Nightmare in Knighton
by longshot07
Summary: After the defeat of the Book of Monsters, everyone thought life was back to normal for the better. But when Clay, Jestro and the knights start having terrible nightmares, they realise that destroying the one thing that held the soul of Monstrox may have unleashed something dangerous.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So guys. Now that I have finished Raising a Jester, I'm going to be writing this. This fic will be like AU of what happened after seasons one and two(mosty because I hated how season four ended). This pretty much how EP.21 started, except Jestro does not get zapped by a jerkass cloud. But he does have a bit of a health scare. This is basically what would happen if Monstrox turned into a mix of Freddy Kruger and Pennywise. Tell me if you want more after the first chapter of this and enjoy.**

* * *

 _ **Stressed**_

* * *

Clay counted as he did his morning push-ups in his room. As he counted up to eighty five, he reflected on everything that happened a few months ago. He remembered how his best friend Jestro was manipulated into teaming up with the dreaded book of monsters and how it was really some sort of vessel containing the soul of Monstrox the arch necromancer. He remembered when he risked his life to rescue Jestro when Monstrox was going to use him as a vessel and take over his body. He remembered how Merlok sacrificed himself again to save them and destroy the book for good. But Clay also reflected on all the good things that came after. He and the Knights were able to do different things thanks to Monstrox being gone and Merlok was up and running again thanks to Robin and Ava. Clay began teaching at the Knights academy, Aaron was working as a stunt performer, Axl was working as a tv chef and Macy was going around to different towns to teach people how to defend themselves from future monster attacks; though it wasn't really going as she planned. One thing that made Clay happy was that the king and queen gave Jestro another chance when they realised that he was just misguided and under Monstroxs' evil influence. They let him decide if he want to stay as the royal jester or change his job to something that did not involve being laughed at or humiliated. As Clay counted to his one hundredth push-up, he made a mental note in his head to go see what everyone was up to today, including Jestro; seeing as he was doing his new job as the weatherman again today. As soon as Clay finished his morning exercises, he jumped up and got dressed; putting on his armour and equipment. He looked at himself in the mirror and nodded at his reflection.

"It's a new day." He whispered with anticipation before making his way out of his room and ready to start his day.

"Good job; but keep your stance strong."

Clay was teaching a class with Robin as his assistant. The children in his class were copying every one of his moves; though some of them were a bit difficult to follow for the youngsters. After a few minutes, Clay decided that was enough and let the students take a break. The blue knight took his helmet off and wiped the sweat off his forehead as Robin came over.

"You're a great teacher, Clay." Robin complimented as he wrote down something on his tablet.

"And you're an excellent assistant, Robin." Clay complimented.

While the students all rested and rehydrated, one of them looked up to the sky; noticing coming towards them.

"Sir Moorington! There's a drone coming this way!"

All the students looked up; pointing and shouting excitedly as they spotted the flying state-of-the-art contraption. Clay and Robin looked up. The boy recognised it when it got closer.

"Hey, isn't that one of the camera drones they use the Knighton news network?" He questioned to the knight beside him.

Clay went wide eyed when he realised something. He was supposed to be doing an interview with Lance for his new show today.

"I forgot all about that." He muttered as he fixed up his appearance a bit.

Clay never really cared about what he looked like, but as a knight, he still had to make himself look presentable. Robin quickly got out of the way as the camera drone stopped in front of Clay and started recording.

"Good Morning, Knighton! I'm everyone's favourite knight, Lance Richmond!"

Clay sighed and rolled his eyes with a smile when he heard Lance announce himself on the Knight and Morning show.

"With my co-host and biggest fan, Alice Squires!" Lance continued. "Alice, don't I look wonderful today?"

"You sure do, Lance!" Clay heard Alice on the other line. "I'm just so happy to be in your presence!"

"I know."

Clay shook his head in friendly disbelief when he heard Lance being Lance on the other line.

"Now first up on our shoe this morning is the Knights code kind of Knight and the guy who was lucky enough to attend the Knights academy with me, Clay Moorington!"

Clay quickly responded as seen as he was introduced.

"Nice to see you, Lance!" Clay greeted in his friendly tone. "How goes it on hollow vision?"

"Oh, the celebrity life style agrees with me. Hope they're treating you right at the Knights academy." Lance ended his sentence with a slight chuckle. "Say; has that old helmet crusher, Brickland finally retired?"

Clay was about to answer the question when principle Brickland appeared right on the mention of his name.

"Hello, Richmond." Principal Brickland greet harshly; making Lance jump. "Slacking off before a national audience I see?"

Lance sounded like he was having trouble finding his words.

"Why, principal Brickland! So good to see that you're still involved with the training of our young future Knights." Lance tried to sound happy to see his old principal.

"STICK A GAUNTLET IN IT, RICHMOND!" Brickland replied in a harsh tone.

Clay heard Alice speak on the other line.

"Ya know, Clay; people are questioning the need to train since you lead the Knights to defeat Jestro and the monsters that attacked the kingdom." Alice reminded with a giggle.

Clay was about to say something in Jestros' defence when Lance interrupted him.

"I wouldn't say lead; it was more of a team effort. With lots of me involved."

Clay and Brickland shook their heads in disbelief before the blue knight spoke again.

"Might I remind you that when that book and his monsters showed up, we were ill prepared to fight them." Clay reminded Lance of their experiences with the lava monsters. "It's imperative that we stay sharp as Knights."

"I agree." Lance replied. "But the Knights I'm more interested in are nightclubs and staying out all 'knight'."

Principle Brickland grabbed the camera and pointed it in his direction.

"If you don't train hard Richmond, you'll nothing but a shiny, crushed and mashed up blubbering pile of goo the next time trouble comes knocking!" The hard principal gave Lance a reality check. "Why I remember in freshman year when you wet your armour and-"

Clay heard what sounded like dial tone on the other. Brickland rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed in frustration when he realised Lance hung up on them.

"Clearly he's not getting any influence from you, Moorington." The principal shook his head lightly in disappointment.

"Trust me; he's a lot better than he used to be." Clay reassured.

Principal Brickland just sighed in frustration and walked off. Robin watched the principal leave until he remembered something.

"Isn't Jestro doing the weather forecast on Lances show?" The boy asked the knight.

"Yeah, he is. I'll have to ask him how it goes." Clay reminded himself.

Jestro played with his sleeves as a makeup artist freshened him up for today and tonight's forecast. The formerly evil jester should have been used to being on hollow vision by now, but he still felt queasy every time he stepped in front of that weather map. The makeup artist looked at him and tilted her head to the left.

"You nervous?" She asked.

"Yeah." Jestro answered with a nod.

The makeup artist nodded and gave the jester a reassuring smile.

"If it makes you feel better, I think you're doing a good job at this." She spoke in gently tone.

Jestro felt his cheeks turn pink as he heard the kind comment.

"Thanks. I'm not really used to positive feedback. Everyone keeps saying that my weather reports are confusing." Jestro admitted with a nervous smile.

The makeup artist smiled back before running to the side when she heard Lance announcing that Jestros' weather report was up next.

"But just to be sure, let's check on tonight's weather with our weatherman; Jestro!"

Jestro quickly got into position with the pointer he used for the map; putting on a friendly face for the camera.

"Aw thanks Lance!" Jestro greeted with a small wave. "Now let's look at the weather around Knighton for today."

Jestro turned to the map and tried reading the marks that showed the forecast. He wished someone told him what they all mean, but he tried to figure it out.

"Well it looks like a muggy high pressure system with... uh... high pressure!"

Jestro turned back to the camera with a slight smile on his face.

"Let's say it everybody! Hi, pressure!" He made a joke.

Lance and the camera man gave Jestro a weird look while the makeup artist giggled; finding Jestros' joke to actually be funny. Jestro laughed a little himself before getting back to work.

"And the cool blue loopy drop here from the Iron Mountains here will bring a chilly-"

Everyone watched as Jestro suddenly stopped. He froze in his spot with a blank face. Lance and the cameraman raised an eyebrow while Alice and the makeup artist watched with confusion.

"A chilly what, Jestro?" Lance questioned when Jestro was not moving.

But everyone gasped when Jestro dropped face first on the floor. The makeup artist quickly responded and ran over to him. The cameraman came over and held his wrist to check for a pulse. Lance and Alice watched as the man went wide eyed and pale.

"I can't feel a pulse!" He shouted in fear and worry.

Alice gasped in fear while Lance told someone to turn the camera off.

"Ok, everybody calm down!" Lance tried to take charge without panicking. "Alice, call an ambulance, right now! Makeup lady, go find someone who knows CPR!"

"I know CPR!" The cameraman responded; getting ready to preform it on the unconscious Jestro.

Lance quickly took his phone out of his pocket and clicked on another Knights contact number; waiting anxiously and worried about how he would take this.

"Left swing!" Clay shouted out to students.

The students did as Clay said; swinging their swords to the left. Robin watched before he heard a ring tone. Clay heard it as well. He reached into his pocket and took out the phone that Aaron got for him as a present. The blue knight raised a brow when he saw an incoming call from Lance.

"Lance?" Clay answered to the other line.

"Clay! How are ya pal!?" Lance greeted rather loudly.

Clay pulled the phone away from his ear to recover from Lance and his yelling. When he brought it back, he heard some commotion coming from the other line.

"Lance, what's going on?" Clay questioned when he heard someone on the line say doctor.

"Well, you know your friend Jestro? The guy who got roped into taking over the kingdom by that book Merlok blew up?" Lance asked; sounding like he was slightly panicking.

"Yeah?"

Clay heard Lance take a deep breath before talking again.

"I think he might have had a heart attack!" Lance said in real panic now.

Robin watched nervously as Clay went wide eyed; dropping his sword to hold the phone.

"What do you mean!? What happened!?" Clay questioned in panic.

Lance tried to explain on the other line.

"I don't know! He was just standing there reporting the weather and then he just-... wait hang on!"

Clay put his hand through his hair in worry when Lance stopped talking into the phone.

"He just came too. But Alice already called an ambulance." Lance told Clay what just happened.

Clay should have been relieved, but he had to make sure.

"I'm coming over there right now." The blue knight said before hanging up.

Clay turned to Robin.

"Clay, what's wrong?" Robin asked in worry.

"Emergency! Everyone is dismissed!" Clay vaguely explained as he ran off.

Clay rushed straight to Lances' workplace in his vehicle; getting there around the same time the ambulance did. The knight ran into the building and asked for directions to the studio where the knight and Morning show was filmed. Clay somehow got inside an elevator with the trio of paramedics and their medical stretcher used to carry patients. As soon as they reached the desired floor, Clay followed the paramedics to the Knight and Morning studio. The paramedics bursted into the room like a band of superheroes.

"Where's the patient?" One of them asked.

"He's right here." The makeup artist pointed them into Jestros' direction.

Clay ran into the room to see Jestro. He was sitting on a chair; being given a glass of water by a squirebot. The paramedics rushed over.

"Didn't you say he fainted?" One of them asked as he opened his case of medical equipment.

"He did! He was just reading the weather, and then he just fell to the floor!" Alice recalled the events from earlier.

"I checked him for a pulse and I couldn't find it. Thought he was having a heart attack of sorts." The cameraman explained.

Clay watched as Jestro looked up to the paramedics.

"I don't remember what happened. I was just reading the map, and then suddenly everyone is hovering over me with worried looks. Not that I'm complaining or anything." Jestro added to report.

One of the paramedics grabbed a blood pressure reader and a stethoscope.

"We're just going to check your blood pressure and see what your heart rate is." She reassured; wrapping the blood pressure reading band around Jestros' arm.

Clay came over as the paramedics did their work. Lance looked up and saw the blue knight coming over. The rich white knight smiled a bit before turning to the jester.

"Hey Jestro; someone's here to see you!" Lance called out.

Jestro looked from up from the paramedic examining him to see Clay coming over.

"Clay!" Jestro smiled as he tried to stand.

"Please hold still, sir." The paramedic examining Jestro gently put him back in the chair.

Clay stood beside Jestro as he was being checked on.

"Lance called me and told me what happened. Are you alright?" Clay asked in concern for his friend.

"Everyone says that I fainted, but I feel fine." Jestro answered in mild discomfort because of the arm band.

"Well according to this, your blood pressure is on the ideal level." One of the paramedics grabbed a stethoscope. "But I should still check your heart rate to make sure."

Clay kept Jestro calm as the paramedic lifted up Jestros' shirt and put the stethoscope against his chest; making him shiver from the cold metal. The paramedic raised a brow as he listened to the Jesters' heartbeat.

"Well I doubt you've had a heart attack of any kind. It's a bit fast, but your heart's beating at an ideal pace, and your blood pressure is fine." The paramedic explained.

Clay did not really show it, but he was quite relieved that Jestro was fine. Lance was a bit weirded out though.

"But why did he faint?" The rich knight questioned. "People just faint for no reason?"

"And he didn't have a pulse when I checked him." The cameraman added.

"You won't always find a pulse by checking someone's' wrist. The best thing to do is put your ear against their chest and listen to their heartbeat for any irregularities." The paramedic who checked on Jestro explained as he packed away the equipment.

"And people can faint for a lot of reasons. Hunger, low blood sugar, blood pressure, nervousness or sometimes just no reason at all." One of the paramedics explained.

Jestro looked down at the floor as his cheeks went pink in embarrassment.

"Sorry I wasted your time." He apologised.

Clay looked down at him with worried eyes. He hated it when Jestro blamed himself for things that were never his fault.

"Don't apologise; you all thought something was wrong and you responded. That's no reason to say sorry." The paramedics reassured.

As the paramedics left with their equipment, one of them stayed back and gave Jestro a bit of advice.

"Another cause of fainting can be stress. I think you should take some time off and relax if it helps."

Jestro blinked as the last Paramedic followed and left with his workmates. Jestro stood up out of the chair as Lance took a breather.

"Well that was something." He smiled and looked around the room. "And we got a bit of it before we turned the cameras off."

Clay raised a brow at Lance.

"Are you seriously thinking of ratings because of Jestro having a health scare?" The blue knight questioned.

"What!? No! I just have a feeling people might call and ask what happened." Lance clarified. "But if it does boost ratings, I won't complain."

Clay just rolled his eyes away from Lance as he lightly shook his head. He turned to Jestro with a concerned look.

"You feeling okay, Jestro?" He asked his friend.

"Yeah. But I don't really know how that happened." Jestro admitted.

"Have you been stressed recently? They said that's a reason why people faint." The makeup artist added her opinion to the matter.

Jestro looked down as he thought about it.

"I have been thinking about what happened a few months ago." He answered as honestly as he could. "About... that book."

Everyone looked at each other in concern. Hearing Jestro say this made Clay worry a bit. But Lance was not going to let the jester go down in the dumps.

"I think I know what you need." The rich knight reached into his pocket.

Clay and Jestro blinked as Lance took out some small bits of paper and handed them to Jestro. Clay and Jestro read them and blinked in surprise.

"Two tickets to Lavalands amusement castle?" Clay questioned.

"An extravagant three hour spa treatment for one?!" Jestro questioned with surprise in his voice.

"Well, I figured that since the paramedic said stress might have made you black out like that, you could use a bit of relaxation." Lance explained. "I had a few extra tickets to that new lavaland park since my dad owns the place, and a few free spa treatments; so I figured you could go to the grand opening tonight then you can have a nice relaxing treatment tomorrow."

Jestro and Clay gave Lance a strange; thinking that someone replaced him with a polite and generous clone.

"That's... quite nice and generous of you, Lance." Clay said in genuine surprise. "Why?"

"I don't know. I just felt like it." Lance vaguely answered as he started to leave.

"But who's the other ticket for?" Jestro called out to Lance in question.

"That's Clays' ticket!"

Clay and Jestro looked at the tickets as everyone else left the studio; giving Jestro the keys and telling him to lock up. Clay put a hand on Jestros' shoulder and smiled at him.

"Are you going to go?" He asked the jester if he was going to the grand opening.

Jestro looked down at the floor and rubbed his sleeve.

"I don't know." He tried to answer honestly. "That place is like a bad memory to me. I don't like thinking about him or... my former HQ."

"Jestro, it's okay." Clay knew what Jestro meant by 'him'. "He's not coming back. If he ever does, we'll stop him like last time. And he won't get you."

Jestro looked up at Clay curiously.

"Are you going?" He asked.

Clay just shrugged with a slight nod.

"It wouldn't hurt." He held his hand out to the jester. "Call it a date then?"

Jestro nodded and took the Knights hand; leading him out of the studio to lock up for tomorrow and go enjoy a night out later.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Bold is Nightmare/dream text**

* * *

 _ **Dream or Nightmare**_

* * *

 **Clay looked around the newly opened amusement castle with curious wander. He looked around for his friends and Jestro. The blue knight scratched his head as he continued to look.**

 **"Hey, Clay!"**

 **Clay turned around when he heard Macy call out to him. He saw her and the Knights waving and coming towards him; wearing causal clothing and unarmed. The blue knight smiled as his friends smiled at him.**

 **"How's it going, Macy?" Clay greeted kindly.**

 **"Okay. Training programs not really taking off though." Macy admitted. "People don't really see the need for it since all the monsters are gone."**

 **"That's whack, man." Aaron said before turning to Clay. "What about you Claymate? How've you been?"**

 **"I'm quite well, Aaron; thank you." Clay answered with a smile that quickly turned into a frown. "Through I did have a bit of drama earlier today."**

 **"About Jestro?" Axl assumed.**

 **Clay raised a brow at the large knight.**

 **"How did you know?" He asked.**

 **"I called everyone and told them what happened." Lance admitted. "Speaking of which, where is the J-man?"**

 **Clay looked around for the one in question. But still no luck finding him.**

 **"He said he was going to meet me here." Clay recalled. "But I can't find him any-"**

 **Clay was cut off by the screams of multiple people. He and the Knights quickly directed their attention to a group of people running around a corner in fear. The group of Knights went wide eyed when a large monster ran around the corner. Then it was followed by more. They looked similar to the lava monsters they faced a while ago, but they seemed more nightmarish and surreal with their ear damaging roars, sharp teeth and glowing yellow and red eyes. Clay watched in disbelief as one of them looked straight at him.**

 **"Nexo Knights; defend the people!"**

 **Clay turned around as he heard Macy shoot out orders. The blue knight took a step back when he saw his friends in their armour and armed with their weapons. Clay looked down at himself as they charged towards the attacking monsters. Clay was the only one without his armour and weapon. Something was wrong. Clay looked around frantically; his vision blurring and hearing deafening as people ran in panic. The blue knight froze as he looked at someone standing in the distance in front of the funhouse.**

 **Jestro was standing in front of the funhouse. He was not dressed in his usual blue and purple outfit and his hat was missing; showing a short and messy light brown haircut. He was wearing what looked like a pair of red flannel pyjamas with a pair of black slippers; holding a stuffed dragon toy in his right hand.**

 **"Jestro?"**

 **Clay watched as Jestro blinked at him and turned away. Clay gasped as something came out of the funhouse. A large shadow black blob creature oozed out of the funhouse and took the form of a giant shadow in the shape of a man. Clay watched in horror as Jestro just stood there unfazed. The shadow creature opened a pair of glowing yellow and red eyes. Clay felt his insides go cold as the creature looked at him; flashing a big sharp fanged smile before giving Jestro his attention. Clay tried to run towards him, but he could not move. Clay held his hand out to Jestro as the creature stretched out its hands and grabbed Jestro; spreading black goo around him until he was completely engulfed.**

* * *

Clay awoke with a jolt as he gasped for air. The blue knight breathed heavily as he heard his own heartbeat banging against his eardrums, but he calmed down when he realised he was in his bed, in his quarters at the academy. Clay sat up properly as he ran his hand through his hair. Clay only had two hours of sleep a night, but he never had any dreams like that. Everything about it seemed so real. It was even similar to... last night...

Clay gasped as he recalled last night. He quickly reached for his phone and went through his contacts. When Clay first got his phone, he made sure he had all the numbers of his friends. Including Jestro. The blue knight pressed the number and waited anxiously for Jestro to answer. Clay felt silent relief when video popped up.

"Hello?" He heard Jestro talk in a tired voice, but his head was facing away from the camera.

"Jestro, it's me, Clay." Clay talked into the phone and looked into the camera.

Clay saw Jestro turn his face to camera, showing him half asleep as he blinked out of tiredness.

"Clay? Why're you calling me at five in the morning?" Jestro questioned tiredly.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted make sure you're alright." Clay apologised as he explained.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Jestro asked as he yawned.

Clay hesitated to answer, so he asked a question.

"What happened last night?"

Jestro looked into the camera of his phone and blinked in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Last night? What did we do?" Clay asked desperately.

"Clay, we went to the grand opening of the amusement castle. We went in, had a good time, and ate some cotton candy; that's it." Jestro answered as he recalled last night. "Though Axl almost got sick on the monster rider coaster, but he was fine after a couple hotdogs; quite ironic, honestly."

Clay watched as Jestro gave him a worried look through the camera of his phone.

"You alright Clay?" The jester asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Clay scratched his head as he registered what Jestro asked him.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just have a big day ahead." Clay answered as calmly as possible.

"Okay. Well, I've got a big day too. Gonna use that free spa Lance gave me." Jestro smiled as he looked into the camera before closing his tired eyes and covering his mouth to yawn. "If it's alright with you, I really want to go back to sleep."

Clay nodded and wished Jestro a good day before saying goodbye and hanging up. Clay put his phone to the side as he took a breath and sighed deeply. He started thinking about the dream he had. It was more of a nightmare then a dream. What really unnerved him was the fact that Jestro was in it and some creature attacked him. Clay was not sure how to make sense of it. He thought it had something to do with what happened a few months ago. Clay was a bit on edge after the book of monsters tried to turn him into his vessel when he tried to rescue Jestro. If it wasn't for Merlok, Clay would have been gone by now and the kingdom would be destroyed under the hands of Monstrox. But Clay reassured himself that would never happen. The book was missing its pages when Merlok destroyed it, so Monstrox had to be gone with it. Clay dismissed the nightmare; thinking it was just his memory playing a trick on him. But he did think it might be best to tell the other Knights or Merlok about it. Clay nodded to himself as he got out of bed to do some morning training; getting ready for the day.

Clay went to the castle the following day. To his delight, the Fortrex was there; meaning Macy was home and Merlok was there to talk to. Clay walked up to the door of the Fortrex and pressed a button next to it; making the sound of a doorbell ring. Clay waited for someone to answer. He looked up when the emblem above turned in a screen; showing Merlok 2.0 booting up and looking down at Clay.

"Oh, Clay! Wonderful to see you, my boy!" The holographic wizard greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm well, Merlok. But I was hoping I could talk to you about something.

"Yes of course!"

Merlok turned his head on the screen.

"Ava, Clay's here to visit!" Merlok called out to the child computer genius.

"I'll open the door now." Clay heard Ava's voice off-screen.

Clay stood back as the door to the Fortrex opened. He walked inside the armoured fortress and made his way to the main room where Merlok and Ava were waiting. The holographic wizard and the child prodigy turned to the door as the blue knight walked in.

"I'm glad you guys are here." Clay spoke in a thankful tone.

"Well, Macy said she was going to go to another village in a few days, so we're not busy." Ava said, sounding a little bored.

"Actually, I came because I need to talk to Merlok about something." Clay explained his presence.

"Of course, Clay. What's on your mind?" Merlok asked with intent to listen.

Clay looked to the floor as he tried to think of something. Merlok and Ava watched as he tried to answer.

"I had a dream last night." He stated simply.

Ava turned away from the console on the computer and gave Clay her full attention while Merlok listened with curious interest.

"I wouldn't think you would have any dreams, considering that you only sleep for two hours." Ava admitted with honesty.

Clay just shrugged in response.

"It was more of a nightmare actually." He admitted.

Merlok and Ava gave Clay rather concerned looks.

"Was it a really bad one?" Ava asked.

"Well, it looked so real." Clay began to explain. "It was similar to what we were doing last night when we went to the amusement castle. But Monsters attacked and sent everyone into a panic. Then Jestro was there, and he got attacked by a giant black mass. Then I woke up."

Ava looked at Clay with a rather disturbed look while Merlok stroked his digital beard in deep thought.

"Yes, that does sound like a bad dream." The holographic wizard spoke softly before facing Clay. "Has something been bothering you, Clay?"

"Well I have been thinking about Jestro and what happened a few months ago." Clay admitted. "And he had a bit of a health scare yesterday too."

"Yes, I did hear about that from Lance." Merlok admitted. "He said he took a bit of a fall."

"Maybe you're worried about him and your mind is just taking it out of proportion." Ava suggested.

Clay just shrugged.

"I suppose. I did call him to make sure he was fine." He recalled what he did early in the morning. "You think that might have been too much?"

"Of course not, Clay. You just wanted to make sure Jestro was safe. Anyone would do the same." Merlok reassured.

"You probably just need a break to relieve any stress you might be holding onto." Ava suggested. "But knowing you, you're not really that keen on breaks."

Clay smiled a little as he lightly chuckled.

"Probably not." He said with a shrug.

"Ava is right, Clay." Merlok took the child prodigy's side of the conversation. "Perhaps some time off would do you some good. Spend some time with friends and go have fun."

Clay thought about it for a moment. True, he was not really the type of person to take a vacation. But maybe just considering taking a break would do some good for him.

"I guess I could take a break." He admitted in slight defeat.

Merlok and Ava nodded in approval.

"By the way Clay; how is Jestro after that little tumble of his?" Merlok asked in general concern.

"He's alright. Paramedics think it might have been stress." Clay explained.

Clay secretly hoped Jestro was alright with what he would be doing today. He knew the jester was going to the spa for that free treatment Lance gave him. So he should be fine there. Bad things do not happen in spas. Right?


	3. Chapter 3

_Italic=Flashback text_

 **Bold=Nightmare/dream text**

* * *

 ** _Spa Monster_**

* * *

 _Last night_

* * *

 _Jestro nervously played with his sleeves as he waited for Clay and the Knights at the entrance of Lava lands amusement castle. Jestro was rather surprised with himself. For once he was not wearing his colourful jester outfit. He decided to dress in something a bit casual for tonight; wearing a pair of black pants with a few bleach spots, a dark purple hoodie with a number three on it with a blue shirt underneath and a pair of mud stained shoes he forgot that he had. He kept his hat on; mostly because he felt naked without it. Jestro looked around for Clay and the Knights; growing worried when he did not see them._

 _"What if they're a no show?" He thought pessimistically. "I'll look weird if I'm here by myself."_

 _Jestro leaned against a wall as he tried to make himself not look weird or suspicious. He looked down at the ground as he put his hands in his pockets. After a minute, Jestro was feeling like he was going to doze off. But he jumped when he felt someone grab his shoulder. The jester made a light squeak as he quickly turned to see who grabbed him. But his scared surprise turned into relived delight._

 _"You guys came!" He smiled with delight._

 _Clay and the Knights were standing there with friendly faces; all dressed in casual clothing and unarmed._

 _"Well, we didn't wanna miss a fun night out." Macy said with a smile._

 _"How long were you waiting here, J-man?" Aaron asked._

 _"Not long; just a few minutes." Jestro answered with a shrug._

 _"We heard you had a heart attack today." Axl spoke with concern. "Are you alright?"_

 _"He didn't have a heart attack, Axl. The paramedics said he just fainted because of stress." Clay explained._

 _"But Lance said he had a heart attack."_

 _Everyone gave Lance a rather distrustful look. The white knight raised a brow in return._

 _"I had trouble remembering what the guys said." He tried to defend himself._

 _Clay just rolled his eyes the other way._

 _"Let's go in." He told everyone to bring out their tickets._

 _Everyone eagerly walked to the front gate of the castle to hand in their tickets and have their wrist bands put on. Everyone wanted to try something there. Aaron wanted to try the monster rider coaster, Macy wanted to ride the hover bumper karts and Lance wanted to buy something from the gift shop(without his dad knowing). Clay and Jestro decided to walk around the place a little bit while Axl went to the ride with Aaron. After the team temporarily went to do their own things and agreeing to meet back at the food area, Clay and Jestro had a bit of a chat as they walked. The Knight noticed that the jester was wearing something other than his jester outfit; something that has not happened in years._

 _"I like your outfit, Jestro." Clay commented._

 _Jestro looked up at Clay as his cheeks went pink._

 _"I didn't really have anything else." He spoke shyly; thinking he was dressed like a slob._

 _"No really, I think you look good." Clay insisted. "You're even still wearing your hat."_

 _Jestro laughed a little as he covered his goofy smile._

 _"I'd just feel naked without it." He replied back._

 _Clay gave the jester a well-meaning smile. But he had some concerns in the back of his mind._

 _"You okay, Jestro?" He asked with concern._

 _Jestro gave Clay a confused look before realising what he said._

 _"I'm fine. I've just been thinking about some things." He played with his sleeves as he spoke. "About the last few months."_

 _Clay listened as Jestro spoke._

 _"I know I stopped being evil before the book was defeated. But I keep getting this horrible thought in the back of my head that he still has some kind of grip on me. I keep thinking that he's going to come back somehow and come after me, and you, and the Knights. Like he might try to turn me evil again or take over my body."_

 _Clay blinked as he noticed Jestro becoming tease and agitated just by talking about Monstrox and what happened. Clay gently took Jestro's hand as they stopped in front of the arcade of the amusement castle._

 _"I understand, Jestro. But I hate seeing you all worried and worked up about this." The knight tried to get Jestro to calm down. "Monstrox won't come back. And if he does, he'll have to deal with us before he can do anything."_

 _Jestro gave Clay a surprised look before smiling at him._

 _"Yeah. Maybe he'll be all scared of us if he ever has the guts to show his ugly face again." The Jester said before laughing._

 _Clay laughed a little as well before Jestro looked inside the arcade. The jester gasped as he looked into the window._

 _"They have CarnEvil in there!" He shouted as he jumped up and down like an excited child. "We have to play at least one game! Please?"_

 _"Okay, just one." Clay laughed as Jestro held onto him and led him into the arcade._

 _Clay would have been eating his words right there. They ended up playing more than one game and they won on more than one machine. They both won a hefty amount of credits; allowing them to trade for prizes like a stuffed dragon toy, a slinky and a reasonable amount of candy. After a while, they went to the fast food area of the castle to meet up with the others. They saw the others there, but Axl was leaning on the table while holding his stomach; eyes closed with a face of discomfort._

 _"You okay, Axl?" Jestro asked the large knight._

 _Axl tried to answer, but he could only make a moaning sound._

 _"Guess the roller coaster made him sick." Aaron theorised._

 _"Should've gone on the bumpers with me." Macy joked around before turning to the blue knight and jester. "What did you guys do?"_

 _"We went to the arcade and beat the high score on CarnEvil and ski ball!" Jestro proudly explained as he held up stuffed dragon._

 _"I won a slinky." Clay said as he played with the old fashioned toy._

 _Clay noticed that a certain rich knight was missing from the group._

 _"Where's Lance?" He asked._

 _"I'm back!"_

 _Speak the devils name and he shall appear. Lance came walking right from behind Clay and Jestro; holding a tray of food; hotdogs, fries, a few drinks and a couple of salads._

 _"Here's a salad for me, and processed food for everyone else." Lance spoke with a hint of sarcasm._

 _Everyone else was about to grab a bit of food as Axl lifted his head up. The large knight started sniffing the food like a dog. As the smell of hot food travelled up his nostrils, a large smile made its way onto Axls face._

 _"Hotdogs!"_

 _He could barely hold in his excitement as he grabbed two hotdogs and scoffed them down in three seconds. Everyone watched with mixed feelings of interest and disgust._

 _"Did-didn't you say you he felt sick?" Jestro shuddered as he questioned the big Knights appetite._

 _"Guess the smell of wonderful food has some healing wonders for Axl, huh big guy." Aaron joked with a smile._

 _Axl responded with a noise that sounded like 'can't talk; eating.' Everyone laughed as they took their seats and talked to each other as they ate the take away. Everyone talked about what they were doing for the past few months; all the success and no success, what has changed since the battle with the book of monsters and so on. Then they began to talk about the past._

 _"Ya know, we haven't really hung out like this since we became Knights." Macy pointed out._

 _Jestro just made a sound like he was blowing hair out of his face; making everyone look at him._

 _"I never became a knight." He reminded. "Probably wouldn't have been a very good one."_

 _"C'mon Jestro, don't beat yourself up like that." Clay tried to lighten his spirits._

 _"Yeah, you had a pretty good run as the royal jester." Lance began to unknowingly chatter. "Well, until you went mad because everyone kept laughing at you, then that book used that to make you bad and-"_

 _"LANCE!"_

 _Lance quickly shut his mouth when he heard everyone except Jestro shout at him to stop._

 _"Sorry." He apologised before going back to eating his salad._

 _Axl finished eating the hotdogs before talking._

 _"Macy is right, ya know." He said as he wiped his mouth clean. "We don't really hang out that much. And when we do, it's when we're on duty or something. We should try hanging out like a group of friends for often. When there are no monster attacks. And Jestro should be a part of it."_

 _Jestro looked up at stared at the large knight with surprised wide eyes. Everyone nodded in agreement._

 _"We should all take a vacation together!" Aaron suggested. "Somewhere warm and sunny with a beach."_

 _Everyone but Clay nodded and cheered in agreement. Clay just rubbed the back of his neck in uncomfortable fashion._

 _"I don't know." The blue knight hesitated._

 _"I think a vacation would be good for you, Clay." Jestro added to the suggestion._

 _"But things went out of control the last time I tried that." Clay reminded._

 _"Well, it was kinda my fault that it went out of control."_

 _Lance raised a brow at Jestro's reply._

 _"C'mon, Clay." Macy insisted. "We could take the Fortrex and have a camp out on the beach."_

 _"I thought you were going around the kingdom to teach people how to fight." Axl said in confusion._

 _Macy shrugged with a disappointed look in her eyes._

 _"Yeah. But the program's hit a road block; I'm considering taking a break from it." Macy explained before getting back to the vacation topic. "So how about it, guys? We bring Merlok, Robin and Ava with us and the whole nine of us go on a vacation? We'll go in three weeks from now."_

 _"I'm going too?" Jestro asked; unsure if he heard right._

 _"Yeah, man! She said the whole nine of us!" Aaron said with a smile._

 _Jestro blinked before smiling too._

 _"Can I bring Hamletta? Please?" Lance began to beg._

 _"Ok, the whole ten of us." Macy recounted. "So how about it?"_

 _Everyone cheered and agreed on it; even Clay. Axl let a loud burp of approval; making everyone laugh._

* * *

Now

* * *

Jestro scratched his head as he looked at the address on the coupon; trying to find the place of the spa. He stopped in front of a small building with a colourful sign out front in the shape of a hand with an eye in the middle. He looked at the coupon; seeing the sign on it too.

"This must be it." He thought to himself as he walked through the door; making a bell jingle.

Jestro looked around as he saw a number of decorative items like a small marble statue of an elephant, a silk sheet hanging on the wall and a few decorative little trees. A squirebot wearing a rainbow tidied shirt appeared from behind the counter.

"Good morning sir, how can I help you?" The squirebot greeted in a friendly voice.

"I'm here for a free treatment. Lance Richmond sent me." Jestro explained as he handed the coupon to the squirebot.

The squirebot looked at the coupon and nodded before turning to a hallway next to the counter.

"Jenny! We have a customer!" They called out.

In a few seconds, a young woman with black hair tied back in a bun and dressed in a rainbow dress and white apron came out from a room near the hallway.

"Welcome sir. I'll be your host today. Follow me." She instructed with a smile.

Jestro followed the woman as she led him to a large room down the hall. The jester looked around the room; seeing a few lit scented candles placed around the room. But a rather large bath filled with odd looking white liquid with what looked like rose petals in the floor and a waterproof pillow at one end grabbed his attention.

"We're just going to start you off with a thirty minute soak in our rose milk bath treatment." The woman explained with a friendly smile. "It will soothe and nourish your skin whist hydrating your body from head to toe before we move on to the facial mask treatment and massages."

Jestro looked down at the white liquid; looking a bit unsure.

"Do I... have to be naked for this?" He asked nervously; trying not to sound creepy or weird.

"Well you can't be fully dressed. But you can still be in your underwear if it makes you uncomfortable." The woman noticed the embarrassed look on Jestro's face. "It's okay; I get asked that quite a lot. I'll turn around while you get ready."

Jestro watched nervously as the woman turned away from him; waiting for him to undress for the treatment. Jestro really did not want to undress down to his boxers, but he knew he was in a safe place. Jestro quickly but hesitantly took off the outer layering of his clothes; even his hat. Jestro folded up his clothes and placed them on a bench near the wall; now only standing there in his red and purple boxers.

"I-I'm ready." He shuddered.

The woman turned away and nodded. She walked over to the tub and helped Jestro in. Jestro felt a slight chill go up his spine as he sat down in the tub; thinking it would be a lot deeper even though it only went up to his knees when he was standing.

"After thirty minutes, we'll move on to a facial mask treatment and a back massage." The woman reminded before leaving the room. "Just call out if you need anything."

Jestro uttered a quiet thank you as the woman left and closed the door. Jestro looked down at the stuff he was sitting in. It almost looked a bit like his jester makeup. Though it made him realise that he should not have worn it today if he knew he was getting a facial done. He took a handful of the rose milk and washed his face with it; washing away the white makeup and showing his pale skin tone underneath.

"This stuff does feel pretty good." Jestro thought to himself. "No wonder Lance recommended it."

Jestro crawled and swam to the end of the tub with the pillow; lying back and resting his head. He smiled a little as he began to float a little; already feeling relaxed. And a bit sleepy. Jestro felt his eyelids getting a bit heavy. The scents of the candles and the bath made Jestro feel like he could sleep for the next half hour. So he did that; letting his eyelids shut.

 **But after a few seconds, Jestro woke up again; sitting up when he felt something. The jester looked forward when he heard what sounded like liquid bubbling up. Jestro blinked in confusion when all the candles around the room went out. He saw the rose milk on the other end of the tub bubble. He was not sure what to make of it. But it just got worse. Jestro went wide eyed when the white substance began to turn black and the rose petals wilted dry. He quickly climbed out of the tub as the rose milk turned into a foul smelling black goop. Jestro backed away as the bubbling continued; terrified by what was happening. But Jestro gasped in terror as the goop began to rise up out from the tub and took a human but sloppy shape with horns on its head. The jester backed against a wall as the goop formed a pair of yellow and red glowing eyes; turning to stare at him. Jestro felt like he was having a mini heart attack when a sharp yellow toothed grin formed on the goop.**

 **"Feels like floating, huh Jestro?"**

 **Jestro felt his heart skip a beat as the black goop climbed out of the tub and started crawling towards him with an evil grin and stare. He started breathing heavy and fast breaths as the goop crawled closer and reached out with a dripping hand with sharp dagger claws. Jestro began to scream and cry out with his eyes closed.**

 **"NO! GO AWAY! SOMEONE HELP ME!**

"Sir?"

Jestro opened his eyes again when he heard the voice of the woman. He took heavy breaths as he stared at her and the squirebot in the doorway; both looking concerned and confused.

"What happened in here? Why're you screaming?" The squirebot asked.

"Something came out of the tub and attacked me!" Jestro pointed at the tub. "It made the stuff turn black and the roses dried up!"

The woman and squirebot looked into the tub; looking at each other in confusion.

"It looks fine to me." The squirebot pointed at the tub.

Jestro uttered a quiet what as he crawled over. He blinked in confusion and shock when he saw nothing but white rose milk and fresh rose petals.

"But... I saw something." He repeated in quiet protest.

The woman looked around and noticed the candles.

"You must have imagined it when the candles went out." She theorised. "There's an open window right over there."

Jestro looked at the direction she was pointing; not hearing her when she scolded herself for leaving it open. Jestro looked down as he tried to process what happened. He thought that he must have been very stressed indeed. Or maybe he was going crazy. But he knew what he saw seemed way too real. And that voice that the goop monster was talking in sounded familiar. All too familiar.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Help**_

* * *

Clay kept his eyes forward as he did his push-ups; making it passed the fifty mark. As he continued his way up to one hundred and fifty, he thought about his conversation with his friends last night and his conversation with Merlok and Ava this morning. He thought that he should have mentioned the discussion about the vacation that the Knights wanted to go on in a few weeks. Macy might have talked to them about it before or after he did. But he did not mind.

Clay did not know that he was going to get a few visitors today. He made it to his 90th push-up when he heard knocking at his door.

"Who is it?" He called before resuming his exercise.

"It's Robin."

"And Lance."

Clay heard the voices of two of his friends.

"The door's open." He called out before getting back to his push-ups.

Robin and Lance came through the door as Clay counted to one hundred and ten.

"Hey Clay!" Robin greeted with a smile as he took out his tablet. "Lance told me that you and the Knights were planning a vacation somewhere around the beach."

"Yes, that's right." Clay remembered as he counted to one hundred and twenty one.

"I was thinking I look up some places that might work as vacation spots and see what you think." Robin suggested.

"And I just wanted to ask you about something." Lance quickly got a word in.

Clay made it to one hundred and thirty two when he replied to Lance.

"What did you want to ask?" Clay asked as he and Robin gave the white knight their attention.

Lance hesitated to ask his question as Clay made it to one hundred and forty push-ups. But he pushed himself to ask.

"Can I bring my sister with us?"

Clay stopped at his 145th push-up. The blue knight sat up as he and Robin gave Lance confused looks.

"Your, sister?" Clay questioned.

"Yeah, can she come?" Lance asked again.

Robin and Clay looked at each other in confusion. They knew well because he always talked about his personal life, but he never said anything about a sister. Clay stood up and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sure, I guess." He answered quietly. "But I didn't know you had a sister."

"Well, she's always at the Knights academy." Lance answered vaguely before looking away. "No thanks to mom and dad."

"Wait; is your sisters name Isabella?" Robin asked to make.

"Izzy; yes." Lance answered.

"I knew she looked a bit like someone I knew." Robin rubbed his chin in thought.

Clay raised a brow before getting a word in.

"But you never talked about her and we've never seen her." Clay pointed out. "How come you never told us you had a sister?"

"No one ever asked me and like I said; she's at the academy." Lance clarified. "But I want to take her with me because I think it would be good for her."

"Have you asked her or your parents about it?" Robin asked.

Clay and Robin watched as Lance looked away and played with his sleeve.

"I rather not talk to them about it. They'd say no and say something about how she should focus on her future, not her wellbeing." Lance spoke in a surprisingly unemotional tone.

Clay and Robin stared for a moment before the blue knight spoke up.

"Well... She's welcome to come. If she wants to." Clay reassured.

Lance just nodded and backed away towards the door.

"Okay then. So Macy told her parents about it and she told Merlok and Ava." He reminded before leaving. "I'll go talk to Izzy and see what she thinks."

Clay and Robin watched as Lance left the room and closed the door. Robin took the opportunity to show Clay some places they could go to on his tablet. But they heard Lance's voice on the other side of the door.

"Oh, hey Jestro. How was the-"

"I can't talk right now Lance; sorry."

The pair heard Jestro's voice before they heard loud and fast knocking on the other side.

"Door's open, Jestro." Clay called out; knowing who was there.

Jestro quickly opened the door; looking around frantically as he walked in.

"Hi, Jestro." Robin greeted with a smile.

"H-hey." Jestro replied with a nervous shudder.

Clay raised a brow before he noticed that Jestro looked a bit nervous and agitated; playing with his sleeve and looking around in a paranoid manner. Clay knew Jestro was supposed to be at the spa this morning. So shouldn't he have looked a bit relaxed after that?

"Are you okay, Jestro?" Clay asked.

Jestro stopped looking around and came up to Clay.

"I need to talk to you about something. Like now." He spoke in a shaky voice.

Robin watched as Clay gave Jestro an odd look.

"Okay, go on." Clay spoke calmly.

Clay and Robin watched as Jestro tried to speak and tell them what happened.

"I went to the spa for that coupon Lance gave me." Jestro sounded like he was struggling to speak clearly. "They put me in this bath tub thing, which was very nice. But I sort of fell asleep and... And..."

Jestro struggled to say the rest. But he tried as he covered his mouth.

"Something tried to attack me." He held his chest as he shuddered.

Clay and Robin gave Jestro worried looks as the jester struggled to stand. Clay quickly led him to a nearby chair so he could sit.

"What happened?" Clay questioned.

"Who attacked you?" Robin added.

"Not who; what." Jestro found his voice again. "They said I must've imagined it, but I know it was real!"

"Jestro calm down." Clay quickly but gently grabbed Jestro's shoulders; telling him to take a breath or two. "What did you think was real?"

Jestro kept still as he remembered what happened in the spa.

"All the candles went out by themselves." He began with a shaky voice. "The rose milk in the tub turned into gross black slime. I climbed out as fast as I could, but it came out and tried to grab me."

Robin gave Jestro a look of worried disbelief. But Clay stared with wide shocked eyes; thinking about the dream he had last night. The one where Jestro was attacked by a monster. The monster in his dream was a giant shadow, but he remembered the black slime that came out of the funhouse before the shadow came out.

"Then it talked to me." Jestro continued to explain. "It said something about floating. But that's not the worst part. Its voice... It sounded like... Like..."

Jestro curled up on the chair; bringing his knees up to his chest as he stared into the floor. Clay and Robin watched as he struggled to answer; holding back frightened tears.

"It's okay, Jestro. What ever tried to hurt you won't get you here." Clay reassured; gently grabbing one of his hands.

Jestro shook his head.

"You're not going to believe me when I say it." The jester disagreed with the Knight. "I tried to tell the people at the spa about it. But they thought I just imagined it because the monster was gone when they walked in to check on me. I know what I saw was dangerous and real, but it just disappeared like a nightmare."

Clay continued to stare in shock and worry while Robin tried to make sense of what Jestro said while getting him a glass of water.

"I really don't know what to make of this, Jestro." Robin spoke honestly as he handed the drink to the jester.

Jestro quickly drank the water in less than ten seconds; spilling a few little drops.

"Maybe this has something to do with what happened a while ago." Robin suggested. "With the lava monsters and the book."

"But I haven't had any bad dreams or hallucinations up until now." Jestro answered back. "Not before I collapsed while on Hallow-vision."

Clay watched as Jestro looked down at the floor; as if he were ashamed of something.

"Maybe this is a sign that I need professional help." He said with a bit of sadness in his voice.

"Therapy is a good idea, Jestro. But if you really think what you saw was real, maybe you should talk to Merlok and see what he has to say about it." Clay suggested.

Jestro and Robin looked up at Clay with confused faces.

"Are you sure, Clay? I don't wanna bother him or anything." Jestro looked down with a hint of pink in his cheeks and an anxious look.

Clay wanted to say something. But he was not sure if he should tell Jestro about the dream he had last night. But he did not want to scare the jester or make him more panicky then he is now.

"Don't be like that, Jestro; I'm sure Merlok would be glad to help you out." Robin reassured.

Jestro blinked at Robin before looking up at Clay. Clay quickly nodded in agreement.

"Yes; talking to Merlok will help. I'll just go get something and we'll take you to the Fortrex." Clay quickly said with a nervous grin before running to his room.

Robin and Jestro listened as they heard the door slam. They gave each other rather confused looks; thinking Clay was acting a bit strange. In his room, Clay quickly grabbed his phone and opened up the messenger feature. He went through his contacts; tapping Macy, Axl, Aaron and Lance. He quickly wrote out a message to send.

"Everyone come to the Fortrex as quickly as you can. It is complicated, but I will explain what is happening when you all get there."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: This chapter was just going to be about Lance and Izzy, But i had to include everyone. I just had to.**

* * *

 ** _Monsters and Mysteries_**

* * *

Lance pulled his hat down as he tried to hide his face from the public. As much as he loved attention from his fans, he did not think he had time for any autographs or photos or the squirereazzi right now. Dennis followed his master to the Knights academy; looking around with a paranoid expression.

"I don't think this is a good idea, sir." The squirebot politely advised.

"Relax, Dennis. I'm not going to pull Izzy out of class." Lance tried to reassure his squirebot. "I'm just gonna tell Brickland that I'm gonna take her out of school in a few weeks for a break. And I want to see how she's doing."

"Your parents might that like this. They paid a fair amount of money for her to be here."

"I get that, Dennis. And I know that Izzy actually likes the academy; bliss her heart. I just... I just..."

Dennis listened as Lance quieted down a bit. The white knight seemed to forget what he was going to say. The squirebot stepped ahead of him to look at him in the face.

"Do you miss her, sir?" Dennis asked; rubbing his robotic hands together nervously.

Lance looked down at the ground as he tried to think of how to reply.

"I barely get to see her." He began to explain. "The only times I actually get to talk to her are when our parents are throwing one of their fancy golden party's or when Mom signs her up to some degrading child beauty pageant. She's probably the one person in my family that I really like."

Dennis gave Lance a rather odd look. But the squirebot knew that Master Cuthbert and Mistress Goldie were not exactly parents of the year. Or any year honestly. The pair made it to the academy as a bell went off. Lance quickly assumed that it was the recess bell when he saw students run out and began playing. He and Dennis notified the academy they were coming so they would not be mistaken for intruders. The pair made it to the office of principal Brickland. Lance stepped in as the door opened on its own. A squirebot acting as a receptionist quickly noticed the pair as they walked in.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" The receptionist asked in a rather bored tone.

"I'm here to talk to principal Brickland about my sister." Lance announced himself. "I'm Lance Richmond."

The receptionist raised a robotic brow at the white knight and his squirebot following closely behind him. They pressed a button on the desk and spoke into an intercom.

"Principal Brickland; one of the Knights is here to see you." They informed.

"Who? Moorington?" Brickland assumed from his office.

"No, it's Mr Richmond. He's here to speak to you about his younger sister."

Lance and Dennis swore they could hear what sounded like a displeased grunt coming from the intercom.

"Send him in." Brickland sounded a little agitated.

The receptionist gave Lance and Dennis a welcoming smile.

"Go right ahead." They pointed at the door ahead of them.

Lance and Dennis gave the receptionist odd looks before stepping into principal Bricklands office. Brickland was polishing a large sword on his desk as the pair walked in; making them stare with wide eyes.

"Never thought I'd ever see your face around here again, Richmond." He spoke as he shined the blade. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk about my sister." Lance repeated as he took off his hat.

Brickland put the sword down as he stared at the rich knight.

"Have a seat."

Lance quickly did as his former principal said and took a seat in front of the desk. Dennis quickly stayed behind the chair and watched as Brickland gave Lance a hard stare.

"So did your parents send you here?" He asked rather firmly.

"No sir, I came on my own business." Lance answered truthfully. "Me and my friends are planning on going on a vacation in a few weeks and I wanted to take Izzy with me."

"You want to take your sister to Slots town and teach her how to play the pokies?" Brickland assumed harshly.

"No! No! The Knights and I just want to have a camp out at the beach!" Lance quickly defended his case.

Brickland softened his stare as he folded his hands on the desk.

"Have you talked to your parents about this or gotten permission from them?" He asked.

"Principle Brickland; I know my parents spent a fair amount of money to send me and my sister here. But I'm not Exactly on good terms with them emotionally." Lance spoke in all honesty.

Brickland looked away and rubbed his chin in thought.

"Yes. I remember how you always said they never took the time to be your parents." Brickland remembered Lance when he was at the academy. "Yet they paid for you to be here and become a knight."

"Only because they have a reputation to hold up that's more important than their own children." Lance spoke with a hint of disgust in his voice.

Dennis watched with a nervous face as Lance briefly looked like he was going to start ranting about something. But the rich knight quickly went back to the topic about Izzy.

"I know how important her education is, but I just think that a little trip to the beach and a sit around a campfire would be good for her." Lance tried to get Brickland to see the rights of the situation.

"Brickland leaned back in his chair as he looked at a wall of photos; all of him and friends he knew back in his younger years.

"I remember a time when I and the boys went camping in the woods." He began to reminisce. "A bear snuck into our campsite and stole Sir Griffith's clothes. We laughed about it for years."

Lance could have sworn that he saw a smile appear under Bricklands moustache. If there was one, it quickly disappeared when the principal turned his head back to the knight.

"When is this trip you and the Knights are planning?" He questioned.

"We don't have an exact date yet, but I can tell you when we know for sure." Lance explained.

Brickland stared at Lance and Dennis as he thought of a decision. He stood up out of his chair.

"Honestly, Richmond; I was never really fond of your father. He always seemed pretty stuck up and careless." He walked over to a window and looked through as he talked. "Your sister looks up to you more than your father. She says a lot of good things about you despite what I've seen. Maybe Moorington is right about you getting better."

Lance just stared at the principal with a confused face; not sure what he was getting at or what Clay had to do with this.

"So is that a yes or a no?" Lance asked rather bluntly.

"She can go if she wants to." Brickland answered with what Lance took as a yes.

Lance smiled and pumped his fist in the air in triumph.

"Though you really should talk to your parents about it." Brickland interrupted Lances little victory scoot.

Lance stopped smiling and gave the principal a face that screamed 'do I have to'. Brickland raised a harsh brow at the rich knight. Lance just sighed as he stood up out of his chair.

"I'll talk to them as soon as possible." He spoke with a rather displeased tone.

"Would you by any chance know where Miss Isabella is, Sir Brickland?" Dennis asked the principal of the child's whereabouts.

"She's probably out playing on the field with that friend of hers. You're welcome to go and look for her." Brickland explained as he grabbed a visitors tag and handed it to Lance. "Just wear this so they know you're here on business."

Lance nodded before leaving the office with Dennis following close behind. The pair left and made their way towards the playground; keeping their eyes peeled for a girl with a long blonde ponytail and light orange spectre shades. After a couple of minutes of being stared at in awe by a few students and signing an autograph or two, Lance spotted a familiar face jumped up and down in the crowd; as if to get his attention.

"Big brother!"

Lance smiled as he saw his sister running through the playground towards him; almost knocking him over when she tackle-hugged him. The rich knight lifted her and hugged back with a squeeze.

"How's my favourite sister?" He teased with a smile.

"I'm your only sister, Lance." Izzy smiled and laughed back as her brother put her back down.

"You've gotten taller since I last saw you. Is the Academy treating you right?"

"Yeah, I've been acing all my classes! Especially gym!"

Lance and Izzy began to chat away about what was happening in the academy and the kingdom. Dennis raised a robotic brow as they continued to chat; knowing Lance was quickly forgetting why he was here in the first.

"Sir, Lance?" The squirebot poked the knight in the shoulder; getting his attention. "Weren't you going to ask Miss Isabella something?"

Lance quickly realised what Dennis meant while Izzy looked a bit confused.

"So sis, me and the other Knights are planning a trip to camp out on the beach in a few weeks." Lance explained. "And I wondering, if you would like to come with us?"

Izzy took a second to process what Lance was proposing.

"You mean like a vacation?" She asked excitedly with a smile.

Lance nodded a yes. Izzy squealed excitedly. But it quickly disappeared and turned into a sad look.

"But mom and dad might not like that." She said pessimistically.

Lance stopped smiling and gave his sister a worried look. He was about to say something when his phone started going off. Izzy and Dennis watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out to check it. He let out a sigh of frustration when he saw a message sent by Clay.

"Sorry, sis. I hate to leave, but Moorington will get mad at me if I'm not there." Lance apologised to his little sister.

"Will you come back to visit?" Izzy asked with puppy dog eyes.

"I want to see you as much as I can, Izzy. And I don't care what mom and dad say; you come if you really want to." Lance smiled as he hugged Izzy again.

Izzy hugged back with a tight squeeze. Dennis smiled a little as Lance held his sister tightly. The rich knight did not want to let go. But as Lance opened his eyes, **he suddenly felt cold. His eyes opened to the distance. Among the students playing tag or walking around, he saw a figure standing there; wearing all red and dark purple strips with its face hidden by a hood shaped like horns. Lance could have sworn it was staring at him even though he could not see any eyes. But he felt chills go up his spine when a pair of yellow orbs appeared where the eyes were supposed to be and a deep voice whispered to him.**

 **"You can't protect her."**

"Big brother?"

"Sir Lance?"

Lance snapped out if his daze when he heard Izzy and Dennis call out to him. The rich knight gently broke away from his sister to see a confused look on her face.

"Are you okay?" Izzy asked in a concerned voice.

Lance turned to see Dennis looking at him with a confused face as well. Lance just straightened himself out and stood up with a smile.

"Talk to you later, sis." He said goodbye to Izzy as he pat her shoulder.

Izzy watched as Lance turned and began to walk away. Dennis just shrugged at her before following his Master out of the playground and out of the school.

* * *

Macy grunted as she swung her mace around; hitting the training dummy with brute force. Queen Halbert watched with a proud smile on her face while King Halbert was practicing driving the royal mech. Queen Halbert quickly turned her head when she heard a crash and a thud.

"Not again." She sighed as she saw the royal mech laying on its back and kicking its legs in the air.

Macy watched as her mother helped her father out of the mech and onto his feet. The king adjusted his crown back to the right spot on his head.

"I really need to practice." His majesty said as he stumbled around from dizziness.

Macy and Queen Halbert laughed a little.

"It's alright, Eggred. No one gets things right away." Her majesty reassured.

Queen Halbert turned to look at Macy.

"Are you alright with continuing training without me, Macy?" She asked.

"That's alright, mom." Macy gave her mother a reassuring smile.

Macy got back to beating the stuffing out of the training dummy when her mother took her father to help cure his dizziness. Macy continued to swing her mace over and over; breaking out a sweat. The princess knight only took a break after a couple more minutes. She wiped the sweat out her forehead as she walked to the bench to rehydrate. Macy grabbed the drink bottle sitting on the bench and drank a fair amount.

 **But something seemed off. Macy stopped drinking from the bottle when an odd taste hit her. She took the bottle away from her face and looked at it. It was one of those metal drink bottles, so she could not see what was in it. But she was sure she put water in it before she started training. Macy gently grabbed the lib of the bottle; unscrewing the top and looking in to see its contents.**

 **Macy went wide eyed and gasped in shock. She unwillingly dropped the bottle to the floor; spilling out the contents of the bottle all over the concrete floor. But it was not water. It was black runny gunk. Macy took a step back and covered her mouth; feeling like she was going to throw up. She froze when she backed into something behind. She quickly turned around to see a figure standing right there.**

 **Macy held up her mace as she looked at the figure. The red and dark purple colours on its clothes, the hood shaped like horns covering its face in darkness; but its yellow and red eyes were completely visible. Macy felt a petrifying chill go up her spine as the figure gave her a wide smile; showing a pair of ugly and sharp teeth.**

 **A loud ring tone snapped Macy out of her petrified state.** She blinked quickly. She looked around frantically when the figure completely disappeared. She looked down at the spilt bottle; seeing a puddle of water instead of black gunk. Macy relaxed herself as she tried to process what happened. But her phone caught her attention as it continued to ring. She quickly went over and checked it; seeing the message from Clay.

* * *

Axl hummed a tune to himself as he picked a fresh tomato from his garden; gently putting it in a basket with some other freshly picked vegetables. The large knight stood up and walked over to a bucket full of fresh weather to wash the dirt off some the vegetables. Axl continued to hum his little tune as he washed the potatoes and cleaned off the dirt; placing them next to his axe when they were clean.

"Yo, Axl!"

Axl looked up from what he was doing to see Aaron coming his way on his shield. The green knight jumped off his mode of transport and strapped it to his back.

"Hey, Aaron." Axl greeted with a smile. "What brings you around here?"

"Just thought I'd check on you and make sure you're not having any after affects from the roller coaster." Aaron replied with a smile. "Whatcha up to?"

"Well, I feel pretty great today. And I've been thinking about Jestro and that fainting episode he had." Axl explained as he washed one of the potatoes. "I figured he just might need a good bowl of hot beef noodle soup. With carrots, potatoes, some tomato, a bit of parsley-"

"Dude, hearing you name food is making me hungry."

Axl grabbed one of the tomatoes he picked and handed it to Aaron.

"You want a tomato? It's freshly picked." Axl offered.

"That's okay, man. Family's having a big dinner tonight and I wanna save some room." Aaron politely declined. "Where's your family?"

As Axl and Aaron began to talk and chat, they did not notice that something was happening to the water in the bucket. **Axl was about to wash a carrot when the water began to turn black. Axl fell silent and wide eyed when he put his hands in with the bucket; quickly taking them back when he saw black gunk in the bucket. Aaron looked and stared in confusion as Axl wiped his hands on his clothes.**

 **"What the heck?" The green knight raised a brow at the bubbling goo.**

 **Axl and Aaron stared at the substance; trying figure out why it was there and how the water in the bucket turned into that. But without warning; the goo flew up out of the bucket and towered over the pair. They took a step back and stared with wide eyes as the gunk grew a pair of eyes and sharp teeth; snarling at them like an angry animal. The gunk was about to charge and attack them, but Axl quickly grabbed his axe and took a swing at the creature; slicing it halfway in the middle and making it sheik. The pair were ready to take another attack when they heard the sound of their phones going off. As the phones continued to ring, the creature disappeared along with the gunk; turning back into the water in the bucket.**

Aaron and Axl gave other looks of confusion and shock; trying to process what just happened. Axl looked into the bucket while Aaron answered his phone; seeing the message Clay sent out.

"Axl; look." The usually easy going knight showed the large knight the message.

Axl looked at the message and read it over. Aaron looked at him and the both of them nodded; knowing that something was about to go down, and the Nexo Knights were getting involved.

* * *

 **AN: The next chapter is going to start off with a flashback of Clay and Jestro when they were kids. And it involves paper boats.**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Paper Boats_**

* * *

 _Past_

* * *

 _"I'm glad Merlok is helping you out, Jestro."_

 _Jestro rubbed the back of his neck as Clay talked to him about the last few days. Jestro was taking lessons in magic with Merlok since learning to be a knight was being a bit difficult for him. Clay thought Jestro could be a good magic user. But Jestro was having a few problems during his first practical lesson._

 _"Merlok is a pretty good teacher." Jestro replied with his eyes to the ground. "But I don't think I'm a really good student."_

 _"C'mon Jestro; you shouldn't doubt yourself like that." Clay tried to reassure Jestro._

 _"I can't even do a levitation spell without something exploding or turning into pigs."_

 _Jestro lifted his knees to his chest as he quietly sighed._

 _"I just can't do anything right." The boy said softly in a sad voice._

 _Clay blinked as he watched Jestro in concern. He told Merlok about Jestro because he might be able to help him and make him feel better about himself after that fiasco at the tournament. But seeing Jestro like this just put him at a loss. A faint shot of lightning and thunder made Clay turn his head. It was raining outside; quite heavily too. Clay could see rainwater racing and flowing in the gutters of the street. Watching it made Clay look at Jestro with an idea forming._

 _"Do you have any paper with you?"_

 _Jestro looked up at Clay when he asked the question._

 _"I don't think I do. Why?" He asked back._

 _"I think I know how to cheer you up." Clay smiled as he stood up and held his hand out to Jestro._

 _Jestro hesitated, but he followed Clay to the academy's art room. Clay made sure no one was in there; giving Jestro the all clear._

 _"Won't we get in trouble for this?" Jestro asked fearfully._

 _"Don't worry; we're just going to borrow some paper and some wax." Clay reassured his friend._

 _The pair looked around the room for the things they needed; finding the paper, an old and worn brush and a container of work wax in different cupboards. They quickly ran out before anyone noticed them and made their way to the library. Anyone who was in the library was too busy doing their own thing to notice what Clay and Jestro were doing. Jestro watched with curious interest as Clay folded the paper in a triangle shape before realising what he was doing. He was making a boat from the paper._

 _"Could you please open that wax for me, Jestro?" Clay asked politely._

 _Jestro nodded and gently open the container of clear wax._

 _"Why does it need wax?" He asked as Clay dipped the brush in the container._

 _"It's gonna help it float." Clay answered with a smile._

 _Jestro muttered a quiet oh as Clay put two layers of wax on the paper boat. When he finished and let the wax dry, he took a pen on the desk and began to write on the side of the paper boat. Jestro watched and read what Clay was writing, but the boy in blue stopped halfway when he wrote ss._

 _"What do you think should we name her?" Clay asked._

 _"Her?" Jestro asked back in slight confusion._

 _"Sailors like to call their ships after women. Like wives or daughters."_

 _Jestro scratched the side of his head as he thought of a name for the small craft._

 _"I don't know." Jestro shrugged when no ideas came._

 _Clay looked back and forth between Jestro and the paper boat before writing on it again. Jestro blinked in surprise when he saw Clay writing his name on the boat. The boy with the purple and blue hat looked at Clay as his cheeks went pink. He quickly looked down as Clay turned to look at him with a smile._

 _"She's already, captain." The boy in blue held up the paper boat with a smile._

 _Jestro slowly and carefully took the boat from Clay's hands. Jestro admired the craft. But his cheeks went bright red when he read his name on it several times over._

 _"I... I really like her, Clay." He shuddered slyly. "But why did you put my name on her?"_

 _"I named her after you." Clay said with a smile. "I thought it might cheer you up."_

 _Jestro looked back and forth between Clay and the boat; smiling a little in a shy manner._

 _"I feel a little better." He said quietly and shyly._

 _Clay smiled and picked up the borrowed art supplies from the table._

 _"I'll go put these away and we can take her out for a spin." The boy in blue said with a smile._

 _Clay ran outside with Jestro following closely. The pair made it to the front of the academy and out into the rain. Clay looked up and held his arms out; feeling good as the raindrops sprinkled over him. Jestro pulled his hat down; trying to keep himself dry but failing at it. Clay turned to face his friend._

 _"Would you like to do the honours, captain?" He pointed to the stream of rainwater flowing through the gutter._

 _Jestro smiled back before walking to the side of the street. He bent down next to the miniature river and gently put the boat in; letting it sail down the street. Clay and Jestro ran after the boat as the stream of rainwater took it to the next street corner; laughing and smiling as they chased after it. They took a sharp turn at a corner leading to the next street. Clay saw a pair of road blocks; stopping people from going through with their carriages and making them walk or turn another way. Clay quickly ducked under so his small body could go right through. The boy in blue continued the chase, but he stopped when he heard a loud thud._

 _Clay turned around and gasped in shock when he saw Jestro lying on his back on the wet ground. He quickly rushed over to make sure he was alright. Clay could hear Jestro quietly moaning as he rubbed his forehead._

 _"You okay, Jestro?" Clay questioned in concern._

 _"I-I'm okay." Jestro answered as Clay helped him up._

 _Jestro quick went wide eyed when he saw the boat turning into another street._

 _"She's getting away from us!" He shuddered frantically as he ran after it._

 _Clay followed the boy in the hat as he ran after the paper boat. He could see it when they made it around the corner; but it stopped at a very small pile of leaves next to a storm drain. Clay could have sworn he heard Jestro whispering 'please don't'. But it quickly turned into a stream of 'no' as the rainwater moved the boat and made it plummet into the drain. Jestro gasped and bent down to look in the drain. Clay did the same; seeing nothing but darkness down there._

 _"Guess she was too fast, even for us." Clay said as he took a breath from all the running._

 _Clay went silent when he heard Jestro make a strange sound. Jestro continued to make the noise. Clay stared in shock and worry when he realised it was the sound of crying. Jestro was crying._

 _"I'm sorry, Clay." Jestro apologised through his tears. "I should've watched where I was going. I lost her; I'm sorry."_

 _Clay quickly but gently pulled Jestro out of the puddle underneath him and moved him under a tree out of the rain._

 _"You don't have to be sorry, Jestro. These things happen." Clay reassured the upset boy._

 _Jestro looked up at Clay as he wiped away his tears with his sleeve._

 _"But you made that boat for me and I lost her." Jestro repeated himself. "Aren't you mad at me for it?"_

 _"I'm not angry at you, Jestro." Clay held his hand. "I just wanted to cheer you up. It's not your fault the boat fell down the drain. We can always make another one."_

 _Jestro fell silent as he looked down at the ground. He stopped crying, but now he was shivering. Clay responded by holding him; knowing he was getting cold from the rain._

 _"Clay? Jestro?"_

 _The pair looked up to see Merlok standing there with his staff and an umbrella. The wizard bent down and looked at the boys with concern._

 _"What're you boys doing out in the rain?" He asked._

 _"We made a paper boat, but it fell down the drain." Clay explained._

 _"She." Jestro quietly corrected._

 _"Jestro's a little upset."_

 _Merlok shook his head as he muttered a quiet oh dear. He turned to Jestro and bent down in front of him._

 _"It's alright, Jestro. I'm sure Clay wouldn't mind making another one for you." The wizard reassured with a gently smile under his beard._

 _"Yeah, I'd even make fifty for you." Clay said with a smile._

 _Jestro looked up as he wiped away his tears and smiled a little._

 _"That's a bit much, Clay." He said, making the other boy and the wizard laugh lightly._

 _"Come on; let's get you two out of the rain. I'll take you back to my library and make some tea." Merlok offered as Clay and Jestro quickly ran under his umbrella._

* * *

Present

* * *

Merlok 2.0 jumped as he heard the Fortrex's doorbell ring. The holographic wizard quickly switched to the screen outside to see who was there. He looked down to see Clay, Robin and Jestro standing there.

"Hmm, lots of visitors today." He commented with a smile under his digital beard.

"Merlok, Jestro needs your help." Clay quickly got to the point.

"Clay said you might be able to talk to him." Robin added.

Merlok rubbed his head in confusion.

"I'm sure I can help." He said as he turned the right of the screen. "Ava, open the door please."

Clay, Robin and Jestro heard Ava say got it as the door of the Fortrex dropped down in front of them; letting them inside the rolling fortress. The trio were about to enter as they heard someone coming. Clay turned to see the Knights coming in their vehicles; all stopping in front of the blue knight. He told Jestro and Robin to go ahead before talking to the group.

"Glad you guys could make it on short notice." Clay said as they climbed out of their vehicles and came up to him.

"I was a little busy having an emotional moment with my only sister, but I made time." Lance said with a hint of sarcasm as he shined his nails.

"Really, bro. It's no problem at all." Aaron spoke kindly.

"So what's going on?" Axl asked curiously.

Clay looked down at the ground as he hesitated to answer. His friends watched as he worked up the courage.

"It's Jestro." He began to explain.

"Has he turned evil again?" Lance interrupted rather rudely.

"Lance! Don't interrupt!" Macy snapped at the white knight. "Go ahead Clay."

"No, he's not evil again." Clay clarified as he explained. "He says something happened to him while he was at the spa. Something bad."

The Knights looked at each other before giving Clay concerned looks.

"What happened?" Macy asked.

"Come inside and Jestro will tell you what he told me and Robin." Clay said as he walked inside the Fortrex.

The Knights followed Clay into the main room; seeing Jestro sitting in one of the chairs around the table with Merlok in front of him and Ava standing next to him. Everyone gathered around and looked at how worked up Jestro looked; wondering if something really bad happened to him and scared him half to death.

"Go on, Jestro. Don't be afraid to tell us what happened." Merlok encouraged him to speak up.

Clay watched as Jestro hesitated to speak in front of the Knights and the wizard. But he managed to speak neither the less.

"Well. I went to the spa to use that coupon Lance gave me." The Jester began to explain. "Which was lovely by the way. I got there and they put me in this bathtub with rose milk or something and rose petals. It was relaxing me so much that I fell asleep in the tub. But, something happened. The employees didn't see it but I know it was real."

Jestro was now struggling to say what happened. The Knights all waited patiently. Jestro finally got something out.

"Something tried to attack me while I was in the tub." He shuddered.

"What attacked you?" Lance asked.

"Was it a rat?!" Axl questioned in genuine worry.

"No! It wasn't a rat!" Jestro argued with a voice on the verge of tears.

Everyone fell silent as Jestro caught his breath before he resumed his story.

"The milk stuff in the tub turned into black goo." He finally said.

Everyone gave Jestro wide eyed stares as he continued to explain what happened.

"I climbed out of the tub when the black stuff turned into some kind of monster with big yellow eyes and gross looking teeth. I called and screamed for help, but the monster disappeared when the guys who worked in the spa came in to see what I was screaming about. They looked at me like I was crazy."

Merlok had a look of worried concern, as well as the Knights.

"You got attacked by a slime monster?" Aaron repeated in question.

"That happened to me and Aaron!" Axl said with a low volume shout.

Jestro gave the green knight and the large knight confused looks.

"Really?" He said with slight relief that he was probably not crazy.

"Yeah; some big goo monster tried to attack us before Clay texted us." Aaron answered back.

Jestro raised a brow before turning to Clay.

"When did you text everyone, Clay?" He questioned.

"Ummm... Right before we left." Clay answered rather slyly.

Merlok got a word in.

"Hang on a minute, Clay. That dream you told me about had similar a monster in it, didn't it?" Merlok reminded Clay of their conversation this morning.

Everyone looked at Clay with confused or concern faces.

"You had a nightmare?" Jestro asked. "Is that why you called me at five in the morning?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay. I didn't tell you that you were in my dream because I didn't want to scare you." Clay answered in all honesty.

"S-scare me?" Jestro stuttered in question.

"Clay said you were attacked by a black mass monster in his dream." Ava explained

Any colour that was in Jestros' face quickly disappeared and replaced with a wide stare of fear. Macy and Lance quickly jumped in.

"But I wasn't attacked by any monster." Macy began to explain what happened to her today. "I was training when my water bottle was filled with black goo and I almost got cornered by some guy that looked like Jestro when he turned evil."

Jestro gave the princess knight a look of disbelief as Lance began to talk.

"You saw that guy too?" Lance asked with a raised brow. "I think I saw him too, but he was too far away to see properly."

Everyone began to discuss what was happening and how to make sense of it. But Merlok was thinking up his own idea of what this happening. The holographic wizard had a worried look on his face before he looked back to the group.

"Everyone; everyone; pay attention!" Merlok called out; getting everyone quiet and paying attention to what he was about to say. "I have reason to believe that I know what could be the cause of this. But if I tell all of you, you might not believe it."

"Merlok, we know you usually have a solution." Robin answered kindly.

"And if monsters of evil voices are involved, I'm willing to take anything for help." Jestro added as he fidgeted in his seat.

Merlok nodded before speaking.

"Very well." He began. "What you are all saying is very similar to the affects that happen when someone is being haunted by a demonic entity."

Everyone gave Merlok confused and worried looks.

"Are you saying that we're being haunted by ghosts, Merlok?" Lance questioned in disbelief.

"Not a ghost, Lance." Merlok corrected the white knight. "A dream demon."

Everyone looked at Merlok he was bluffing.

"Are you talking about a myth that a group of people made up after they had continuous night terrors?" Ava tried to process what Merlok just said.

"Dream demons aren't real. People just made them up to explain nightmares." Axl tried to argue.

"Not quite, Axl." Merlok kindly disagreed. "They are real, but they are very rare. Many years ago, people were being haunted by them. But soon they discovered methods of keeping them away."

"Like dream catchers?" Aaron asked.

"One of many, Aaron. After a long time, the numbers of Dream demons began to deplete. Soon there were only few, and now they've been gone for so long that no one even remembers that they exist."

"Hang on; shouldn't they only attack you if you fall asleep? We kept seeing something while we were awake today." Macy tried to make sense of what Merlok was saying.

"Yes; that's usually when they strike you with what you fear. They can attack you while you're awake, but they only do it after they've been haunting you for a while and have worn down your mental strength. They don't just attack anyone in the waking world straight away."

"But I fell asleep in the spa and you guys said you were awake when you were attacked." Jestro reminded fearfully.

"Yes, that's very strange." Merlok agreed with the jester. "One way of knowing if it's a dream demon for certain is reading a person's mind while they are asleep. But mind reading isn't one of my specialties."

Everyone looked down as they tried to think of what else could be done. Ava stepped forward with her tablet.

"I think I have something that can help." She said as she fiddled with her tablet.

Everyone watched as Ava brought up an image of a diagram on her tablet; showing what they assumed was some kind of program.

"After we defeated the book of monsters, I've been using my free time to study the mysteries of the human brain." She showed everyone program on her tablet; a holographic picture of a human brain. "I've been using the tech of the Fortrex and the simulation room to scan brain waves; using Robin and Merlok as volunteers."

"More like test subjects." Robin muttered sarcastically as he rubbed his head.

"You used the simulation room to see into dreams?" Clay questioned.

"Well with Merlok, his dreams are easy to view because they're basically just code. But with Robin, I had to adjust the settings a few times to even get an almost clear picture. But I was able to view their dreams from their point of view and hear what was happening in them." Ava explained.

"Like a movie?" Aaron asked.

"Yes; quiet similar. If Jestro is okay with it, I can attach some scanners to his head and hook him up into the Fortrex to see what's going in his head."

"Do we really wanna see what's in his head?" Lance muttered quietly.

Clay mentally told himself not to scowl at Lance when he heard the white knight whisper that comment. Jestro looked down at floor with a nervous frown. He looked up and gave Ava a nervous stare.

"Is it safe?" He asked.

"Don't worry, Jestro. I've done this on Robin and Merlok plenty of times." Ava reassured.

"You're in good hands, Jestro." Merlok added more reassurance.

"Just follow me and we'll get you hooked up."

Jestro watched as Ava began to walk to another room. Everyone looked at him; expecting him to follow her. He hesitated; freezing up in his chair until he felt a hand in his shoulder. He looked up to see Clay giving him a reassuring smile.

"It's alright, Jestro. Nothing will get you here." The blue knight reassured the jester.

"I'm kinda scared, Clay." Jestro said as he grabbed Clay's hand.

"Don't be scared. Just try to think of something positive. Like..."

Clay looked down as he tried to think of something. He smiled a little and looked back at Jestro.

"Think of that time we made the paper boat."

Jestro blinked at Clay before getting out of his chair and letting go of his hand.

"Ok. I-I'll try." He stuttered a little as he followed Ava to the simulation room.

* * *

 **AN: The next chapter might have some blood in it.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: This chapter is one big Stephen King reference and there's blood, Just letting you know.**

* * *

 _ **Monty**_

* * *

Jestro nervously played with his sleeves as Ava led him into the simulation room; blinking when he saw what looked like an inflated mattress in the middle with a computer and a small scented mist diffuser next to it. Ava turned around to look up at the jester.

"I just need you to lie down on the mattress and I'll hook you up to the computer." She instructed.

Jestro quickly did as Ava said; jumping onto the mattress and lying down on his back. Clay and the other watched from the main room through a camera in the simulation room as Ava lifted up Jestro's hat slightly; attaching some sensors onto forehead and began tapping something into the computer. Clay nervously tapped his foot as Macy took notice.

"Is this really going to work?" The princess knight asked as she turned to Merlok.

"If we want to figure what is happening, then we'll just have to put our trust into Ava and her program." Merlok answered back as everyone continued to watch the screen.

They watched as Ava put a headset with a microphone on her head and looked up into the camera in the room.

"So I'm just going to play some music and turn on this scented mist diffuser that'll help Jestro fall asleep." Ava explained the process. "Once his dream has started, all of you will be able to see it on the main computer as it happens while I will see it on this laptop."

Ava turned and looked down at Jestro.

"Jestro; if your dream turns into a nightmare and you're put in any danger, I can immediately wake you up and pull you out." She explained as Jestro gave her a scared frown. "Are you ready?"

"Not really." Jestro replied pessimistically.

Ava ignored the jester; playing some soft music and turning on the scented mist diffuser. Everyone watched the screen as Ava prepared the program and Jestro tried to fall asleep. Jestro laid still as he listened to the soft music and smelled the sweetness produced by the diffuser. The jester soon felt his eyelids getting a bit heavy; loosening up and becoming relaxed. Soon he was fast asleep and lightly snoring. Ava gave the team a thumbs up and pressed a button on the laptop; bringing up a window on the main room screen that showed digital static. Everyone turned to look at Axl when they heard a loud crunch; seeing the large knight eating from a large bucket of popcorn. Axl froze when everyone gave him a weird look.

"What?" He shrugged. "I thought we could eat some popcorn while we watch the thing."

"Axl, this isn't some movie." Clay reminded.

"Yeah, but the way we're watching it is like a movie." Lance clarified as he took some popcorn and ate it.

"Sssh. I think it's about to start." Robin warned.

Everyone watched as the static on the screen cleared up and turned into a person's point of view. Clay blinked when saw himself there. When he was younger. He could see a familiar piece of paper in what he knew was Jestro's hand. Clay almost smiled when he realised Jestro was dreaming about one of his best memories.

"Clay, that's you." Robin pointed at the screen.

"Yeah; back when we were all kids." Macy replied with a smile.

Everyone put their attention back to the screen as the younger version of Clay began to speak.

 **"Would you like to do the honours, captain?"** He said as Jestro looked down at the stream of rainwater in the gutter.

Jestro bent down and placed the paper boat into the running water. Everyone watched as he and younger Clay began to chase after the boat. Merlok watched for any signs of a Dream demon while everyone watched with growing interest. Clay felt like he was talking a trip down memory lane as he watched one of his fondest memories from the point of view of his dearest friend. He smiled a little as he remembered how happy he and Jestro were as they chased after that little boat. But it faded when he remembered what was about to come next.

Clay watched as the younger version of himself ran under a couple of roadblocks. Jestro did the same. But he misjudged the second one and ran into it headfirst. Everyone watched and listened in discomfort as Jestro made a light moaning sound and brought his hand to his forehead.

"I think I felt that." Aaron whispered as he took some popcorn and ate it.

Clay was watching the screen; expecting his younger self to go and help Jestro up. But he did not. Jestro just sat up by himself and looked around frantically for Clay.

 **"Clay? Clay!?"** Jestro repeated; panic in his younger and higher voice.

Everyone watched anxiously as Jestro spotted the boat and gasped. He quickly sat up and ran after it. Clay just watched in confusion and question. He helped Jestro when he fell in the real memory. Why did he just disappear in the dream? Jestro managed to catch up to the boat when it stopped, but Clay knew what was coming next.

 **"No!"** Jestro shouted in fear as the rainwater pushed the boat into the drain.

"Oh, so close." Lance spoke like he was commentating.

Macy and Axl quickly shushed him and told him to be quiet. Everyone watched as Jestro bent down and looked into the drain.

 **"Clay's gonna be mad at me!"** Jestro said in anxious worry.

Jestro continued to look into the drain for the paper boat, but it was too dark and deep to see anything.

But suddenly, a pair of yellow and red eyes popped out of the darkness; making Jestro scream and jump back. Everyone leaned back with wide eyes when they saw the eyes looking straight at young Jestro. But the eyes turned into a normal looking green as a dented smile appeared under them.

 **"Hi there, Jestro."** A voice similar to older Jestro spoke out.

Everyone watched anxiously as the owner of the face and the voice stepped out; showing an all too familiar figure. Macy went wide eyed and grabbed Clay by the shoulder.

"That's him! That's the guy!" She whisper shouted and pointed at the screen.

Everyone looked at the screen with confused faces. The figure actually did look a lot like Jestro when he was turned evil by the book of monsters; red and purple clothes with the disfigured facial features. The figure stared at Jestro as he held up the paper boat in one hand.

 **"This sure is a nice looking boat."** He commented with a smile. **"Do you want it back?"**

Everyone could hear Jestro struggling to talk back.

 **"Y-yes please."** Jestro stuttered as he looked at the figure.

The figure continued to stare at Jestro. Clay watched in discomfort as the figure stared without blinking; feeling like he was being watched.

 **"You look like a nice boy. I bet you have lots of friends."** The figure spoke softly.

 **"A few."** Jestro replied quietly. **"But Clay's my best friend."**

Clay felt his heart warm up a bit when he heard Jestro say best friend. But it did not last when the figure started talking again.

 **"Where's he?"** The figure asked.

Everyone saw Jestro turn his head to the left and right of him. They heard him make what sounded like a nervous stutter.

 **"I don't know."** He said as he looked back at the figure in the drain.

 **"Well maybe I could help you find him."** The figure said with a toothy grin. **"Maybe I'll even give him a balloon."**

Clay and Merlok both felt uncomfortable as the figure continued to stare; he's grin getting a little bigger.

 **"Do you want one too, Jestro?"** He spoke softly and kindly.

 **"Merlok says I shouldn't take staff from strangers."** Jestro spoke quietly; backing away from the drain.

Merlok and Clay were glad Jestro had common sense, even in his dreams. But the figure did not seem to get it.

 **"Oh, well my name is Monty the jester."** He said and jumped up as some bells on his clothes jingled. **"Monty, meet Jestro. Jestro, meet Monty."**

Monty continued to smile at the boy as he stared with unblinking eyes.

 **"Now we aren't strangers. Are we?"** He asked.

Everyone could see Jestro shake his head. But Clay almost felt his insides turning cold as he watched the scene unfolding on the screen. He glanced at the other screen with Ava monitoring Jestro as he sleep. Nothing was happening there.

 **"What're you doing in a sewer?"** Jestro asked Monty; making Clay look back to the dream screen.

 **"The circus I'm in got lost."** Monty spoke with his grin. **"There's a whole show right down here. You know what they have at a circus, Jestro?"**

Everyone watched as Jestro shook his head. Monty continued to speak.

 **"There's popcorn... peanuts... Ice cream... and..."**

Jestro thought of what Monty was trying to say.

 **"Cotton candy?"** Jestro thought of.

 **"Yes! Cotton candy!"** Monty spoke as he nodded and smiled. **"Is that your favourite?"**

 **"Yeah!"** Everyone could hear the smile in Jestro's voice.

 **"Mine too! I love it because it's like a little fluffy cloud that you can eat."** Monty said as he began to laugh.

 **"Yeah, me too!"** Jestro replied as he giggled a little.

Everyone watched as Jestro laughed with the figure in his dream. Clay and Merlok gave each other worried looks; knowing something was not right.

"Ummm, where's the nightmare making monster?" Lance asked impatiently.

"I can't find anything odd; Jestro's anxiety is low." Ava said through her headset.

"Wait, something's happening." Macy pointed at the screen.

Jestro and Monty continued to laugh until Monty's voice suddenly deepened. Jestro immediately fell silent and stared as the man in the drain stopped smiling and just stared at him. Clay felt like something was about to happen. Something terrible.

 **"I-I should probably go now."** Jestro was about to turn and leave.

Monty made what sounded like a scared gasp.

 **"But... what about your boat?"** He asked.

Jestro turned back to see Monty holding up his paper boat. The same one Clay made for him.

 **"Come and get it, Jestro. You don't wanna lose it."** Monty teased as his toothy grin came back. **"Clay will be upset with you."**

Clay and Merlok shook their heads; knowing something was definitely not right. Ava began to speak through her headset again.

"Guys, Jestro's anxiety level is rising rapidly." The tech wiz said in worried concern.

Everyone could see Jestro slowly crawling back towards the drain. Clay stepped forward and spoke out.

"Wake him up, Ava." The blue knight ordered.

Ava nodded and proceeded to wake Jestro from the program. She leaned over and poked him in his shoulder. But she was not getting any response. Ava blinked in confusion and tried shaking him and shouting his name; but still nothing.

"Guys, Jestro's not responding!" She worryingly spoke into her headset.

Everyone watched in worry as the Dream continued; showing Monty giving Jestro a grim smile.

 **"Take it; jokeboy."** He spoke in a deep menacing voice.

Clay felt his heart skipping beats when he saw Jestro reaching into the drain to grab the boat. Merlok gasped as he saw Monty's eyes turn into a ghastly combination of yellow and red. **Jestro almost had the boat in reach. But Monty grabbed onto him and tried to pull him in. Jestro screamed and pulled back in defence, but Monty glared at the boy as his hands turned into shadows with sharp claws; digging into Jestro's arm and making him cry out in pain and panic.** Everyone moved their eyes to the other screen when they saw real Jestro screaming and tossing and turning as he was in the dream turned nightmare.

Clay ran out of the main room and barged into the simulation room; running over and kneeling down beside Jestro.

"Jestro! Wake up!" Clay grabbed the jester and turned to shake him awake by force.

The Knights and Robin quickly ran to the simulation room as Merlok watched both screen in fear. Clay continued to scream and shout for Jestro to wake up as Monty was about to drag him into the drain.

"This can't be happening." The holographic wizard could not process what he was seeing.

Merlok watched as Clay continued to scream and shout; seeing the dream screen slowly turning into static. As Clay was about to shout again, Jestro finally awoke in cold sweat and gasped for air. Everyone gathered around as he wrapped his arms around Clay and started sobbing in terror.

"What the heck was that!?" Axl shouted out in panic.

Everyone but Clay began to cry out and try and process what just happened. Clay focused on comforting Jestro and calming him down. But he wide eyed when he noticed something on him. Something warm and wet. Clay gently broke away from Jestro to see him with tears pouring out of his eyes. But that was not what Clay felt. Clay looked down at Jestro's right arm and gasped in horror. The light purple sleeve of Jestro's arm was stained in a growing patch of blood.

"Guys; go get the first aid kit!" Clay called out to the bickering group; getting their attention. "Jestro's hurt!"

As Macy and Robin rushed to find a first aid kit, Merlok looked down at the floor with a worried and terrified face.

"Oh no." He muttered over and over.

* * *

 **AN: If you guys wouldn't mind, I'd like some feed back(it helps motivate me to write).**


	8. Chapter 8

_**An All-nighter**_

* * *

"It's worse then I predicted."

Merlok watched as Macy and Aaron tended to Jestro's wound. Jestro bit his lip and closed his eyes shut as Macy dabbed some disinfectant on the claw marks on his arm. Then Aaron tightly wrapped some bandaging on it; stopping it from bleeding out any more blood. Clay felt his stomach churn as he thought of that monster that called himself Monty. He felt absolutely disgusted of how that thing turned one of Jestro's most cherished memories into something that came straight out of a horror movie. Clay clenched his fist as he thought of that voice. Something about it felt all too familiar to him.

"C'mon J-man, don't squirm so much." Aaron warned as he wrapped the bandages around Jestro's new scars.

Jestro still closed his eyes shut as Aaron tended to the wound. Lance and Axl watched with looks of confusion and terror.

"Seriously; what was that thing?" Axl questioned in fear.

"And how could it do that!?" Lance pointed to Jestro's now bandaged wound.

"I'm afraid what did that was a real dream demon." Merlok answered. "We might be up against a powerful one too."

"But how did it hurt Jestro like this? He only dreamt of being hurt." Robin tried to make sense of it.

"I'm afraid Dream demons can have an impact on the real world as well as the dream world. That's how they get their victims. If a dream demon broke someone's leg while in the dream, then the sleeper would wake up with a broken leg. Or if they made you drown in your dream, you might wake up coughing up water and gasping for air."

Jestro looked up at the holographic wizard with wide and fearful eyes.

"You're saying that whatever happens to me in the dream happens for real?" Jestro asked in a shaky voice.

"I'm afraid so, Jestro." Merlok answered truthfully.

Everyone watched as all the colour from Jestro's face quickly disappeared; replacing it with a white more pale then his jester makeup. He closed and opened his mouth as he tried to say something.

"So... if I... got really hurt... I would... die for real?" He questioned in stutters and pauses.

Merlok could only nod; making Jestro turn away and curl up in his chair; rocking back and forth as he stared into nothing. Clay quickly stepped forward.

"There has to be something we can do!" The blue knight said in protest. "We can't just let this thing scare Jestro to death!"

"Isn't there something that we can use with Ava's program to stop it?" Robin suggested.

Merlok was about to say something when Ava beat him to it.

"Well, maybe there's a way I can use my program to combat this thing somehow." She tried to think of something.

"What if we could go into Jestro's dream and fight this thing?" Axl suggested.

Ava raised a brow as Macy disagreed with Axl.

"That just sounds like something out of a movie, Axl." The princess knight compared the strange idea to film.

"But, it could work." Ava went along with idea in theory. "If I can make some alterations to the program and attach more sensors, I can hook multiple people up to the computer and place them inside Jestro's dreamscape; allowing you guys to fight this thing."

Jestro and the Knights all nodded and agreed; thinking it sounded like a good idea.

"Absolutely not!"

Everyone jumped and looked up as they heard Merlok speak against the idea.

"Dream demons are unpredictable and dangerous! If we put all of you inside Jestro's dream, then you would all be in danger!" Merlok warned.

"Merlok, I understand your concern; but we may not have any other options." Clay tried to reason with the wizard.

Merlok looked down to the ground with a worried face. He sighed as he looked back at everyone with a look of defeat.

"I was just going to say that I know someone in Marketdale who can help Jestro." He spoke in defeated tone. "He's an expert on warding off evil spirits and demons. Believe me; I didn't want to say no to your idea, Ava. But I know that if any of you try to go into the territory of a dream demon, you would never awake again."

Everyone gave each other looks of uncertainty. But Jestro decided to speak up.

"So, you said someone could help me?" He asked shyly and quietly.

"Yes. His name is Angus Blackstone. He's an alchemist that has done experiments with gemstones and materials." Merlok explained. "I knew him back in my youth when the numbers of dream demon began to decrease. He was the one of the many who came up with methods of keeping them away. Nowadays, he just runs a small jewellery shop in Marketdale. But if we can go there and have me put on a portable device, I can have a talk with him and see if he can give us some gemstone charms to ware off this ghastly creature."

Everyone gave each other knowing looks and nodded.

"Well what're we waiting for? Let's go!" Aaron said with eagerness in his voice.

"But be warned. It's a day's trip." Merlok advised before turning to Jestro. "Jestro. I'm sorry to tell you this. But you'll have to stay awake until we get to Marketdale and get the materials from Angus."

Jestro looked at Merlok with a face that screamed 'you've got be kidding'. The jester rubbed his eye as he sighed.

"I'm not really good at staying up." He sighed. "It's not exactly good for you."

"I only sleep for two hours a night, and I'm fine." Clay kindly disagreed with Jestro; making the jester give him a wide eyed stare of disbelief.

"Yeah, that's not really healthy." Macy whispered to Axl; the big knight nod in agreement.

"Guess I better call my parents and tell them what's going on." Ava spoke as she grabbed her phone and walked to another room. "No rest for the wary I suppose."

"We should go as soon as we can." Merlok advised. "The sooner we get to Marketdale, the better the outcome of this will be."

* * *

The knights began their journey to Marketdale; knowing it was going to be a day's trip. Merlok drove the Fortrex for most of the way before Clay took over. Axl, Macy and Aaron stayed up as long as they could to help Jestro stay awake while Ava, Robin and Lance all went to bed. Lance would be complaining about losing beauty sleep if he stayed up; much to the other Knights protest. Jestro tried drinking some coffee that Axl made to stay awake and paced around the Fortrex; refusing to sit down out of fear of falling asleep. After the other Knights went to bed, Clay took over driving the Fortrex while keeping an eye on Jestro. Jestro just spent the whole night moving and pacing around the Fortrex; too afraid to fall asleep. But the coffee was only doing so much. It was only six fifty two in the morning when they made it to Marketdale; just as all the towns' shops were opening for the day. Everyone awoke as they felt the Fortrex come to a halt. Jestro just continued to pace and mutter things as he drank what was his seventh cup of coffee.

Merlok woke up from his position on the table and yawned as everyone came in through the door. Aaron was standing right behind a jittery and muttering Jestro.

"Are we there yet?" Aaron asked a bit loudly; making Jestro jump and spill his coffee.

Jestro made a frightened sound as he turned to see the green knight. Aaron quickly apologised before realising how tired and edgy Jestro looked; looking like he drank a lot of coffee the whole night through.

"Man, you look way out of it, Jestro." He commented in the least meanest way possible.

"I've been drinking coffee all night!" Jestro spoke quickly as his left eye twitched.

Everyone took a step back as the jester violently twitched; thinking he probably should never drink coffee.

"Alright, everyone. I'll need one of you to let me onto your phone so I can talk to Angus." Merlok announced.

"You can use mine, Merlok." Macy offered as she pulled out her phone.

With a nod, Merlok disappeared from the table in a flash. Everyone looked around as they waited for him to reappear. The screen on Macy's phone turned on to show Merlok on there.

"I'm down here, everyone." The wizard spoke out to get everyone's attention. "So, who will come to the market with me?"

"I'm gonna stay." Jestro said with a twitchy stutter.

"I think I'll stay and look after Jestro and the Fortrex." Clay spoke honestly.

"I'll stay too." Ava added in.

"Guess that means the rest of us are going to town." Robin said to Merlok with a smile.

"You think they'll have a big clothes store there?" Lance asked in a rather excited tone of voice.

Everyone just looked at Lance like he did something wrong. The white just gave everyone a confused look.

"What?"

* * *

The Knights looked around with faces of bewilderment as they walked through the market town. Different shops and stands selling different things were everywhere. Axl almost drooled at the sight of several stands selling food. Macy and Aaron tried very hard not to get off track when they sighted a weapons and skateboards shop. Robin smiled at the sight of a metal works shop and the hand crafted statues on display. Lance was tempted to run off and look for a trendy clothes shop. Merlok had to remind everyone of what they were doing and told them to stay on track.

"We're here." The digital wizard announced; making everyone shop in front of a small building.

Everyone looked up at a sign on the building reading 'Blackstone gem cut and jewellery'. Lance put his hands on his hips as he looked at the building. No windows or display out front.

"Is the jewellery actually good here? There's no display window." The white knight pointed out.

"We're not here to buy any fancy rings or jewellery, Lance." Macy spoke harshly to the rich knight.

"Actually, Macy. We are. Not for anything fancy like a ring." Merlok spoke through the phone in his digital voice. "Just go right in and I'll handle the business."

Aaron opened the door for Merlok, Robin and the Knights; getting the attention of someone at the counter. A man in his late sixties dressed in a protective apron with long grey hair tied in a bun looked up from a book he was reading with a pair of large framed glasses. The man put the book down as he raised a brow at the Knights entering his shop.

"Well. I've had a few Knights come into my shop before, but not five all at once." The shop keeper spoke with a thick Scottish accent.

"Are you Angus Blackstone?" Macy asked.

"Depends. Who wants to know?"

The Knights watched as Macy held her phone up and showed it to the shop keeper. The shop keeper lifted his glasses when he saw what was on the screen.

"So it's true." The shop keeper smiled as he stood up behind the counter. "The great Merlok really does live on as a hologram."

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Angus." Merlok greeted as he waved on the phone screen. "How are things in the crystal business?"

"People seem to prefer regular diamonds instead of speed strengthening rubies, but I'm getting by."

The Knights watched as the two old men began to converse and talk. Robin quickly knew they were getting off track. The boy got their attention by waving his hand in front of the phone.

"I know it's great to catch up, but didn't we come here for something?" Robin reminded the wizard.

Merlok quickly remembered and got back to the subject with a serious expression.

"Angus; I have a friend who needs your help with one of your crystal charms." Merlok got straight to the point.

"Anything for an old friend." Angus said with a smile. "What's troubling the lad? Low self-esteem? Bad luck on his tail?"

Everyone gave each other an uncertain look as Merlok answered to the Scotsman.

"I'm afraid he's being haunted by a dream demon."

Everyone watched as the smile on Angus's face turned wide eyed with a frown of shock.

"Dream demons haven't been seen since the age of Monstrox." Angus said in disbelief. "There should be none left."

"Oh, we got one dude. And it's a bad one." Aaron clarified.

"Merlok said you have something that can help." Axl added.

Angus nodded with a stern stare.

"I got something that should keep the dream ruining bassa away from your friend." He said with an almost angry glare.

The Knights watched as Angus held his hand out to Macy.

"It's best that you all wait here while Angus takes me to get the materials." Merlok advised through the phone.

Macy hesitated, but she handed the phone with the wizard inside to the jeweller; watching as he took the Knights mentor out to the back room.

Angus placed the phone containing Merlok on his work bench; getting the materials he needed and placing them on the bench.

"I can make a string necklace with a Lepidolite and Malachite charm." He said as he grabbed some copper wire and a pair of bending pliers.

"If you don't mind, I was hoping you could make at least eight of them." Merlok kindly spoke through the phone.

Angus looked into the phones camera and gave Merlok a stare of disbelief.

"Eight!? Yer aff yer heid, holo wizard!" The jeweller spoke with heavy Scottish speak. "Ya understand I work on commission, right?"

"I promise I'll pay you back for the gems." Merlok reassured his friend.

"Ya better."

Merlok watched as Angus got to work; taking the two types of gems and placing them in charms made from the copper wire.

"So why do you want so many nightmare prevention charms?" The jeweller asked in curiosity.

"They're for the Knights, my two students Ava and Robin and Jestro." Merlok answered with a nod.

Angus raised a brow at the mention of the last name.

"Jestro? Isn't he that jester that went mad and tried to take over the kingdom?" He asked for a reminder.

"He was corrupted by Monstrox." Merlok corrected.

"But you destroyed that monster commanding coward. Didn't ya?"

Merlok gave the jeweller an uncertain stare before speaking again.

"I wasn't being honest with you old friend." The holographic wizard admitted. "I defeated Monstrox, but I didn't destroy him. I could only split his soul into twelve books and keep him locked up in my library."

Merlok felt his non-existent insides turn cold with disgust on himself.

"I should have been more careful. It was my fault that Jestro found that book. Monstrox twisted the boy's mind and turned him into something he should never have been. Now this powerful dream demon is haunting him with nightmares of his evil self."

Angus stopped what he was doing for a minute and gave Merlok a knowing stare.

"I've known you for many years, Merlok. And for all that time, I've looked up to you." He spoke in a slight caring tone. "I may not know this Jestro personally. But I'm certain he doesn't think lowly of you. Maybe he looks to you too."

Hearing Angus say those words made him think of when he took Jestro on as his apprentice. But thinking about how often Jestro would fail casting a spell made the wizard feel bad; thinking he could have done better as a teacher.

"I wish I could believe you, Angus." Merlok muttered as Angus got back to work. "I really do."

The pair spent the next minutes in silence as Angus made the nightmare prevention charms; knowing the Knights would be impatient soon. But Angus smiled as he tied the last string through the last charm.

"Done. Eight charms for eight people." He proudly held them up in his hand. "These should keep those mind destroying buggers away when ya sleep."

"Thank you, Angus." Merlok replied with a smile. "It was good to see you again after all these years."

"You should come around more often. I might buy myself a phone so we could catch up."

Just as Angus was about to take Merlok and the charms back out front, he froze. Merlok grew concerned as his face had an unsure and sad look on his face.

"Umm. I've been meaning to say this to you for a long time old friend." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Merlok watched as he took a breath before speaking again.

"Sorry about what happened to Wanda."

Merlok blinked before looking down. The wizard sighed as Angus picked him up.

"There's no one to blame for what happened." He spoke as he shook his head. "I did everything I could, but it wasn't enough."

"I'm sure she would forgive you." Angus reassured.

Merlok smiled a little as he looked at Angus.

"You two would have been great friends." The wizard commented with a small chuckle.

Angus smiled a bit as he grabbed the charms and took Merlok back to the front of the shop.

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

Clay and Ava watched with worried concern as Jestro rocked back and forth on his chair; eyes all wide and unblinking.

"I didn't even know Jestro drank that much coffee." Ava commented. "It's a miracle he hasn't had a heart attack by now."

Clay listened to what Ava said as he watched Jestro rock and twitch in his chair. The blue knight scratched the side of his head as he stood up.

"Ava, could you mind the computer please?" He asked the child prodigy.

Ava nodded before turning to the main computer screen. Clay carefully walked over to Jestro; being unnoticed as he approached.

"Jestro?" Clay spoke gently as he put his hand on Jestro's shoulder.

Jestro made a frightened noise as he almost jumped out of his seat and turned around quickly to face Clay. Clay almost felt unnerved by how bugged eyed and twitchy Jestro was.

"Are you alright?" Clay asked out if concern.

Jestro eased up as he processed what Clay just asked him. His eyes calmed down and he stopped twitching. But Clay grew worried when the Jestro buried his face in his hands and made a light sobbing noise.

"I'm so tired, Clay." He croaked through his sobs as he started shaking. "I'm afraid that if I fall asleep, I might die like Merlok said."

Clay quickly responded by sitting next to Jestro and holding his arm gently.

"It's gonna be okay, Jestro. Merlok and the others will be back soon. Just hang on a little longer." Clay reassured the frightened jester.

Jestro stopped shaking and looked up at Clay. The jester wiped his teary and tired eyes with his sleeve as he sniffed with a tired and sad face.

"I just don't get it." He spoke with tiredness in his voice. "I know I did bad things to the kingdom and to its people. But I'm trying to be good. I'm doing my job with the weather and apologising to everyone for all the things I did when I was bad. Why is this happening to me? Why do you and the Knights have to get involved when it's not your fault?"

Clay felt his heart sink as Jestro started crying again. He knew the jester was tired and frustrated because of this thing that was haunting him. Clay only waited to help. But he did not know how. Merlok forbid the idea of using the program to enter Jestro's dreamscape. What else could he do?

"I don't understand it either." Clay spoke gently; getting Jestro's attention. "I always thought you were a good person, Jestro. And I still do. I just wish everyone else could see it. If the heavens above don't see it then I don't know what to think."

Jestro blinked as Clay continued to speak. But his eyelids were getting heavy.

"I don't care what it takes, Jestro. I won't let this dream demon hurt you anymore. I'd do anything to stop it."

Clay looked back at Jestro. But he blinked in confusion when he noticed that he looked a bit dazed.

"Jestro?" Clay repeated the jesters name.

Before Clay could do anything, Jestro fell forward out of his seat and landed on the hard floor with his eyes closed.

"Jestro!" Clay repeated as he bent down to check on him.

Ava quickly turned to see what was causing all the commotion; gasping in shock to see the jester lying motionless on the floor; only twitching every few seconds. She quickly came over to see what was wrong as Clay called out to him and tried to shake him awake. But it was no good. Jestro was fast asleep.

* * *

 **AN: Read and review are welcome**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Nightmare**_ ** _Academy_**

* * *

Merlok and the Knights made their way back to the Fortrex with the nightmare prevention charms that Angus made. Everyone hoped they would work and help Jestro. Through something crossed Macy's mind.

"So why did you ask Mr Blackstone to make so many charms, Merlok?" She asked as she held up her phone in front of her.

"It's just a precaution, Macy. If the dream demon leaves Jestro alone when he wears it, we don't want it to move on to any of you." Merlok explained through the phone.

"I don't know. Green and copper was never really my colour." Lance said with an uncertain look; making Axl and Aaron shake their heads.

When the group made it back to the Fortrex, Merlok opened the door automatically and put himself back into the system. But when he reappeared at the centre of the main control room, he soon gasped in horror.

"Great disciples of Merlin!"

Macy and the others quickly ran into the main room when they heard the wizard speak in panic. They all gasped in shock when they saw Clay holding an unconscious Jestro in his arms and Ava trying to awake him.

"What happened!?" Robin questioned the scene in front of him.

"Jestro had a blackout and fell asleep!" Ava got straight to the answer.

"I don't know how! He started having a breakdown because he was tired! I told him to hang on a little longer!" Clay explained as he panicked.

"Can't we wake him up like Clay did last time!? Aaron questioned.

"We tried! He's completely unresponsive!" Ava answered.

"Oh no. This is not good at all!" Merlok began to panic. "We can't put the charm on him now! It would have terrible side effects on his health and kill him!"

Just as the Knights were about to argue with the digital wizard, they heard an odd growling noise. Everyone looked down to see it was coming from Jestro. Everyone watched with wide eyes as his eyes opened. But something was wrong. They were not his normal paranoid green. They were yellow and red. Clay felt his insides go cold as Jestro slowly turned his head and stared right at him; slowly giving him a sinister grin. Everyone but Clay took a step back from the jester and his terrifying state. Jestro tilted his head to the side as he continued to stare and unnerve the blue knight.

"Thought you could get rid of me, did ya Moorington?"

Everyone felt their insides go cold as they heard a deep voice come out of Jestro's mouth before he started laughing maniacally in the same voice. But it soon stopped when Jestro stopped smiling and gasped for air. His eyes went back to green before they closed again and he started screaming in his normal voice. Everyone began to panic. But Clay did not want to waste time.

"Ava!" He said as he stood up with Jestro in his arms. "Get the program ready and hook me and Jestro up to it."

Everyone fell silent and looked at him like he was insane.

"Clay, I told we must not!" Merlok quickly reminded.

"Jestro is going to die if we don't do something! I'm not going to let that happen!" Everyone watched as Clay quickly made his way to the simulation room with Jestro in his arms.

Ava quickly ran after him before all the Knights followed. When he made it to the room, Clay gently placed Jestro on the mattress as he began to toss and turn with frightened moans. Ava quickly placed some sensors on the jesters head and told Clay to lay down; placing some sensors on his head just as the Knights ran in.

"Clay, you can't do this!" Macy seemed to protest.

"I don't have a choice! Don't try to stop me!" Clay argued in protest.

"Dude, we're not going to stop you!" Aaron clarified.

"We wanna go into Jestro's head and help you fight this thing!" Axl added.

Ava gave the Knights a shocked stare before reaching for more sensors.

"Everyone, lay down on the floor and try to sleep!" The child prodigy instructed.

All the Knights did as they were told, but Lance hesitated for a moment before doing it. Ava quickly attached the sensors to everyone's heads as Robin watched anxiously. Ava quickly went to the laptop and booted up the program as the Knights began to drift off; quickly falling to sleep.

* * *

 **Clay opened his eyes again to see a familiar place in front of him. He looked up to see the Knights academy, but it was all old and decrepit; covered in dead vines and weeds.**

 **"Jeez."**

 **Clay turned to see the Knights standing right there; all looking up at the terrifying version of their school.**

 **"Is this supposed to be the Knights academy?" Axl asked.**

 **"It wasn't like this yesterday." Lance commented.**

 **"I guess Jestro has bad memories of school if it looks like this in a dream." Aaron commented.**

 **Clay nodded as he readied his helmet, weapon and shield.**

 **"Let's go." The blue knight spoke with a stern voice.**

 **The Knights followed as Clay began to walk through the gates of the dream version of the academy. As they walked through the already opened doors, everyone could not help but feel like they were being watched or followed by something. Lance kept looking back for something that might be following them.**

 **"Remember, everyone. We have to stay together. If you see Jestro, help him and tell him to wake up. If you see that dream demon, run." Clay told the group; everyone nodding in agreement.**

 **As they walked through the cobwebs coated halls of the academy. Axl walked into a string of webs; spitting out in disgust. Everyone looked around for any signs of Jestro or the Dream demon. But as Lance tried to avoid the sticky cobwebs, something tangled in them caught his attention. Lance took a closer look to see it was a sheet of crumbled up paper. But there was writing on it and a picture. The white knight reached in and grabbed it for a closer look and went wide eyed at the sheet. Macy came over when she noticed that he looked frozen.**

 **"Lance, did you find something?" She asked.**

 **But she also went wide eyed and frozen when she saw the paper. Everyone else quickly came over to see what it was. They all became confused when they saw Lance's picture on it. But they all became a bit disturbed when they saw the words 'missing' at the bottom along with today's date. 6th of June.**

 **"What is this?" Lance questioned in confusion.**

 **"Dude, why is there a missing poster of Lance in Jestro's head?" Aaron questioned in a creeped out tone.**

 **Clay looked at the poster as Lance began to panic.**

 **"Isn't today the sixth of June?" Lance asked as he started shaking. "Why is this here!?"**

 **"Calm down Lance, calm down." Axl took the poster from the white knight and held his by the shoulders.**

 **"This is only a dream, remember?" Macy tried to get him to calm down.**

 **Before anyone could say anything, they heard a frightened scream followed by a sinister laugh. Clay quickly ran after the sound as the Knights followed him, but as Clay ran down the hall, a giant puddle of black gunk appeared under the Knights and shallowed them in a split second. Clay quickly turned to see them gone; going wide eyed with worry.**

 **"Guys!?" He called out.**

 **Clay began to hear what sounded like communication static.**

 **"Clay, you there?" He heard Aaron's voice in his ear.**

 **"Aaron? Is that you? Where are you and the others?" Clay asked quickly.**

 **"I'm alright, but I got no idea where I am!" Aaron answered back.**

 **"I'm okay too!" They heard Axl on the line. "I think I'm stuck in the kitchen! It's a mess in here."**

 **"I'm here too!" Macy could be heard on the line. "I think I'm in the gym!"**

 **Clay heard everyone on the line. Everyone but Lance.**

 **"Lance, are you there?" He asked.**

 **"GET ME OUTTA HERE!"**

 **Everyone could hear Lance screaming into his helmet.**

 **"Okay. I'll try to find Jestro. You guys try to find Lance before he has a panic attack." Clay gave out instructions.**

 **Clay could hear his teammates say yes sir and got it before he ran down the hall to find his dear friend and stop the demon haunting him.**

* * *

 **Lance started breathing heavily as he walked through a massive locker room. The rich knight held onto his lance as he walked past a line of lockers covered in graffiti. He tried to think of things to calm down. Money, jewels, holovision... Izzy. He tried to think of Izzy and how happy she made him when she was around.**

 **"Okay Lance. Promise yourself you'll get out of here alive so you can see your little sister again." Lance muttered to himself.**

 **Lance walked around a corner to see a locker lying face up on the ground. The white felt a continuous chill go up his spine as he stared at it. He wanted to stay away from it. But something was telling him to go and look. Lance kept his Lance ready as he slowly walked towards the locker; in case something was going to jump out and attack. The rich knight quickly opened the locker. But nothing came out. Lance looked in to see nothing but an old looking school bag with some torn up textbooks. The white knight raised a brow before closing the locker and dismissing it.**

 **As Lance was about to stand up, a large blob of black gunk crashed through the metal of the locker; making Lance fall back on his rump. The black gunk quickly took form in a familiar face. Lance watched with wide eyes as it turned into the evil nightmare version of Jestro and smiled at him with his grotesque teeth.**

 **"Beep beep, Richmond." He said in a demonic and metallic voice.**

 **Lance quickly got up and ran the other way as the dream demon laughed manically; jumping out of the locker and chasing after the white knight. Lance did not look back out of fear, but he knew that thing was catching up to him. The dream demon gnashed his teeth at Lance; as if trying to bite him as he ran. Lance managed to ran out a door, but he kept thinking he was a goner when the dream demon was about to jump at him.**

 **But the doors closed on the dream demon when a bunch of laser arrow blasts hit the doors; making the creature crashed into the steal with a thud. Lance turned to see Aaron smiling and breathing rather heavily from what might have been running.**

 **"Oh thank goodness you're here, Aaron!" Lance said as he hug-tackled Aaron.**

 **"Good to you, Lance." Aaron ruffled up Lance's hair a bit before breaking up the hug. "Have you seen the other Knights or Jestro around here?"**

 **Before Lance could answer, they heard banging on the doors. Aaron and Lance quickly jumped back as a pair of claws cut through the steel and went down; cutting a hole through the door.**

 **"No! But I found the guy who looks like him!" Lance answered before he started running the other way.**

 **Aaron quickly followed as the dream demon cut through the doors and crawled through the hole it made. It made a snarling and growling sound as its pray disappeared down another hall.**

* * *

 **Macy kept her guard up as she tried to find a way out of the gym. It was dark, but she knew it was the gym because she could vaguely see white lines on the floor that could be found on a baseball court. Macy turned around until she spotted an open door in the distance. She began making her way towards it. But it closed on her when she was getting close. The princess knight kept her weapon up in case of an incoming attack from something that might be lurking in the shadows. She heard a noise that sounded like light footsteps.**

 **"Show yourself!" She commended.**

 **Macy kept her weapon up for whatever was about to come out of the shadows. But what came out made her lower her guard. Her mother and father came out holding hands with blank faces.**

 **"Mom? Dad?" She questioned in disbelief.**

 **"Macy. Why are you still in your armour?" The king questioned in an unemotional tone. "It's your day off today."**

 **Macy raised a brow at the sight of her parents in this dream.**

 **"Yes, dear. It is her day off." Queen Halbert also spoke in an unemotional tone. "Why don't you come here, Macy. We have something for you."**

 **Macy rolled her eyes and held up her mace.**

 **"You really think I'm gonna fall for that old 'pretend to be someone I love' trick?" The red knight spoke with a glare. "My mom and dad don't talk like zombies."**

 **The king and queen looked at each other before giving Macy sinister smiles.**

 **"It's zombies, you want?"**

 **Macy went wide eyed and took a step back as the fake parents began to change. Their skin turned grey with cuts and tears on their clothes; hair darkened with dirt and eyes red like blood. Macy took another step back as they both smiled at her with ill intent.**

 **"What's the matter princess?" They taunted her in deep voices. "Too scared to hit your parents!?"**

 **Macy growled at charged at the imposters; swinging her mace into the side of the fake kings' head. The fake king let out an animalistic scream as he fell backwards before turning into a puddle of black slime. The fake queen charged at Macy with claws out, but Macy blocked and pushed them away with her shield. As the two began to fight, a loud thump could be heard from the other side of the door. Macy was too busy to notice when a power axe crash through the door and made a hole to peek through.**

 **"That you, Macy?!"**

 **Macy turned her head slighter to see Axl poking his head through the hole in the door.**

 **"Axl!" She called out as she took a swing at the fake queen.**

 **Axl quickly backed away and took another swing at the door before making a hole big enough for himself to charge through. As Macy continued to fight the imposter and fell on her back, Axl charged through the hole and lifted his axe in the air. The fake queen looked up at the last second as Axl jumped in the air and throw his axe down on top of the imposter; making it let out an demonic scream before turning into a puddle of goo. Macy breath heavily as Axl helped her up.**

 **"You okay, Macy? The large knight asked in concern.**

 **"I'm okay, Axl." Macy answered back. "But I think that dream demon knows why we're here. Have found the others yet?"**

 **"No. Have you?"**

 **Macy nodded before a scream erupted from the hall where Axl came from. The two Knights recognised the voice.**

 **"That sounded like Jestro!" Macy said as she ran towards the hole in the door; Axl following close behind.**

* * *

 **Clay ran faster as he heard the scream of his friend. The blue knight ran around a corner; looking back when he thought he heard another set of footsteps. But he quickly turned back to face the front when he heard heavy breathing coming his way. Clay held his sword up as he readied to face anything dangerous that might try to attack. But he quickly lowered his guard when he saw the familiar colours of light blue and purple run and skid around the corner down the hall.**

 **"Jestro!" Clay called out.**

 **Jestro quickly turned to face Clay down the hall. Through the blue knight could not see it from where he was, Jestro was smiling.**

 **"Clay! Oh thank goodness!" Jestro called out as ran down the hall.**

 **Clay ran towards Jestro with his arms open; ready to catch him. But as Jestro made it to the middle of the hall, the floor beneath him gave way. Clay froze as Jestro screamed and made a pained noise, as if he landed in or on something. Clay quickly ran to the hole in the floor and looked down to see Jestro lying on a broken table; hinting that he landed in a kitchen of some sort.**

 **"Jestro, stay right there! I'll find a way down to you!" Clay called out as he ran towards a flight of stairs down the hall.**

 **Jestro just painfully moaned in response. As Clay made his way to the kitchen, he ran into Lance and Aaron; crashing into them and falling over. Lance and Aaron quickly got back up as Clay did.**

 **"Clay!" Lance spoke out loud in shocking surprise.**

 **"You almost ran us over, man!" Aaron said with a slight snicker, but he tried to stay serious.**

 **"I found Jestro!" Clay got straight to the point. "He's in the kitchen!"**

 **Lance and Aaron quickly ran after Clay while the rich knight made a comment about Axl being in the kitchen instead of Jestro; but they ignored him.**

* * *

 **Jestro made a pained grunt as he tried to sit up; feeling a horrible sting in his left arm. He looked down to see that the sleeve was torn and the skin on it was bruised and red. Jestro touched it but quickly took it back when he felt a sting on contact. Jestro felt a warm sensation coming out of his nose. He put his hand up to it to see blood coming out of his nose; thinking it was from the fall. But he had no time to think about it when he heard an all too familiar laugh.**

 **Jestro looked around in fear as he heard a sinister chuckle coming from the broken refrigerator. But he felt his heart skip a beat when it opened slightly. He froze as familiar black runny gunk oozed out of the fridge and onto the floor in front of him. Jestro quickly backed away as the gunk rose up and began to take form; turning into what Jestro thought was the evil version of himself. The red and purple clothes, the hood in the shape of horns, the yellow and red eyes, that horrible smile. But Jestro felt like he was going to have a heart attack when the dream demon called Monty stared at him with a look that had malicious intent behind it. Monty bent down slightly as he tilted his head.**

 **"What's the matter, Jestro?" He asked with a demonic voice. "Did your boyfriend forget to wake you up?"**

 **Jestro continued to back away out of fear as Monty began to laugh. But it got worse when the dream demon began to approach Jestro; making the same noises Jestro was making as if to mock him.**

* * *

 **Clay, Lance and Aaron continued to run to the kitchen. But they came to halt when they reached a set of doors. The trio read the writing on them in red ink. At least they hoped it was ink.**

 **"Scary"**

 **"Very scary"**

 **"Not scary at all"**

 **The trio looked frantically at all the doors; knowing this was some kind of trick set up by Monty.**

 **"We should take that one!" Lance pointed at the not scary at all door as he ran to it.**

 **"Lance, wait!"**

 **Clay tried to stop him, but Lance already opened the door. The trio saw nothing but darkness in there. But they heard breathing. But it slowly turned into a scream with big red eyes staring back. Everyone quickly backed away as the scream got louder and the eyes got bigger. Aaron quickly grabbed the door and slammed it shut.**

 **"No thanks!"**

 **Clay and Aaron took a breath of relief but Lance was breathing heavily and holding his head in panic.**

 **"What the heck was that!?" He questioned with a shout.**

 **"Lance it's okay calm down!" Clay grabbed him by the shoulders. "Monty is just trying to trick us! Remember the missing poster! That wasn't real! So none of this is real!"**

* * *

 **Jestro backed into the wall as Monty came closer to him while smiling evilly. Jestro was soon cornered as Monty quickly bent down and grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up against the wall. Jestro tried to fight back by kicking and punching but it was just doing nothing. Monty laughed as Jestro started crying out of fear.**

 **"We're gonna have so much fun, Jokeboy."**

 **Jestro stared at the dream demon with wide eyes when he heard the last word. But he started screaming when Monty grinned at him with a mouthful of sharp fang-like teeth. Jestro watched as Monty switched to a blank emotionless face as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his mouth opened wide like a vampire mixed with a snake.**

* * *

 **Clay, Lance and Aaron now only had two doors to choose. But only one of them would lead them to Jestro.**

 **"Scary"**

 **"Very scary"**

 **Lance was too terrified to pick. But Clay and Aaron both knew the answer to this trick. They blue knight reached for the very scary door and turned the knob. Lance thought there was going to be some horrible flesh eating monster waiting on the other side. But to his, Clay's and Aaron's relief, there was not.**

 **"Oh, thank god!" Lance took a breath of relief as he shouted into the short hallway in front of them.**

* * *

 **Jestro shouted and screamed know as he struggled against Monty. He felt the dream demons breath as it was about to bite his neck with his dagger fangs like some kind of sick vampire. But he did not feel anything. Jestro looked as Monty froze and turned the other way. The dream demon heard something.**

 **"Jestro!?"**

 **Jestro gasped when he heard Clays voice down the hall.**

 **"CLAY, I'M IN HERE! HE'S TRYING TO EAT ME-"**

 **Monty covered Jestro's mouth with his other hand as he heard footsteps running into the kitchen. Clay, Lance and Aaron quickly came to a halt in front of the fridge; all going wide eyed when they saw the creature that had Jestro pinned to the wall. Lance looked like he was on the verge of another panic attack, but Clay and Aaron kept their cool as Monty smiled at them.**

 **"You've got some nerve to say that this isn't real." He spoke in a rather placid voice.**

 **But the smile quickly turned into an unnerving grimace; making the three Knights stare as chills went up their spines.**

 **"Are you saying I'm not real, Moorington?" Monty said with a louder tone.**

 **Jestro made a light pained sound as Monty dropped him to the floor. The jester looked up as Monty smiled again with its grim intent to the Knights.**

 **"It's real enough for Jestro!"**

 **Clay, Lance and Aaron held up their weapons as Monty bared his teeth and claws and charged at them with an animalistic roar. Jestro reached out as his friends were about to be attacked. But a mace came flying from the side and hit Monty square in his head; sending him flying into the wall. Everyone looked to see Macy and Axl come out from another entry way. But the pair quickly ran over to Jestro as Clay did. Everyone gathered around them as Clay made sure he was alright.**

 **"Did he hurt you?" Clay asked in concern as he checked the bruise on his arm.**

 **"I-I don't know." Jestro stuttered.**

 **Before anyone could say anything, they heard an enraged growl come from the spot where Monty landed. Everyone turned to see the dream demon standing there with his head down, but they could see black gunk dripping from where macy's mace hit him. Everyone watched with shocked horror as he looked up; showing an enraged grimace. And half of his face replaced with darker then black skin and a jack-o-lantern mouth.**

 **"You're going, to pay for that, Nexo nitwits!"**

 **Clay and Jestro instantly recognised that voice. That deep raspy voice that they haven't heard in months. Monstrox.**

 **Everyone watched as their enemy hunched over and made what sounded like a discomforting pained sound. They all tried to back away as the outer shell of his evil Jestro disguise began to melt away like hot wax.**

 **"Jestro! We need you to wake up right now!" Clay told the jester what to do.**

 **"I can't! I'm stuck here!" Jestro spoke with a fearful stutter.**

 **"J-man; no pressure, but you really need to wake up!" Aaron warned as he watched Monstrox change.**

 **Everyone watched as Monstrox grew twice as tall as Clay and grew a set of sharp claws on his right hand; covered by a blood red and black robe. The dream invading necromancer breathed heavily as he looked up at the group with a look of hatred.**

 **"Ava, if you can hear us, please help us!" Macy looked up and yelled out.**

 **Monstrox just growled and took a swing at the Knights and the jester; making them pull up their weapons while trying to get Jestro to wake up.**

 **"You will be mine, Jestro! You will be!" Monstrox yelled in anger.**

 **The necromancer was about to charge with his claws out.**

 **"Guys, hang on!"**

 **The Knights and Jestro heard Ava's voice in their heads before they all felt a zapping sting in their heads; their vision turning white and going blank.**

* * *

Clay sat up as he gasped for air and broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly looked around to see everyone waking up like he did; all breathing heavily with cold terror sweat. Ava and Robin were already making sure everyone was alright. Clay looked up at Ava with a tired stare.

"How... how did you wake us up?" He asked the child prodigy.

"Had to use the wakeup call protocol on the program. I had to give all of you a little zap. Sorry about that." Ava apologised in advance.

"That's okay, Ava. We're glad you did." Macy reassured.

"I thought we were gonna die!" Lance curled up on the floor with his head in his hands.

"Yeah, man. That was a close call." Aaron agreed with the rich knight.

Merlok appeared before on the simulation room wall; looking very concerned and worried.

"Clay, I saw what happened! Are you all okay?" The digital wizard asked with a worried voice and face.

Looked down as he tried to answer.

"The dream demon. It's... It was-"

"Monstrox."

Everyone looked over to Jestro sitting up on the mattress; eyes wide with fear as he stared at the bruise on his arm and unfazed by the blood flowing from his nose.

* * *

 **AN: Next chapter will have some Claytro for sure.**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Stay**_

* * *

"Well this is just great!"

Everyone was in the main control room; trying to come to terms with what just happened. Macy just sat in her chair in thought. Axl made some hot chocolate to calm everyone down. Lance was just going off and ranting. Aaron was trying to stay calm and keep his cool. Robin and Ava tried to process the situation. Merlok was trying to think and assess the situation. Clay just tried to comfort Jestro and calm him down. But everyone knew how heavy the situation was. Monstrox was back somehow, and as a life threatening dream demon.

"That stupid book should be dead! Merlok made him explode!" Lance recalled the events from months ago.

"We all thought that, Lance." Merlok agreed with the rich knight. "It just shows that Monstrox is hard to get rid of."

"But what're we gonna do?" Macy questioned. "He can invade dreams now! What if he tries to attack again!?"

"Well, we have the charms. But now that we know what exactly we are dealing with, I'm not sure if it will work." Merlok spoke honestly.

"There's no harm in trying." Aaron suggested. "Monstrox might not be as powerful as he thinks. Maybe the charms will protect Jestro and us from him."

"But did he want with Jestro?" Clay questioned in worry.

"Was he just trying to scare him to death?" Axl questioned further.

"No." Jestro shook his head as he stared at the floor. "He said he wanted to make me his."

"His what?" Lance asked; making Macy shush him.

"I don't know. But he just approached me like some kind of vampire. He tried to bite my neck after he said; we're going to have so much fun, jokeboy."

Everyone felt their hearts sink as Jestro began to shake in fear; knowing that he probably never wanted to sleep ever again after this.

"We just might have to try and figure what he's doing." Merlok said to everyone. "But we are not using the program again. It's too great of a risk."

The holographic wizard turned to Ava; giving her a signal. The child prodigy nodded and picked up the charms made by Mr Blackstone.

"Until we figure out what to do about this, you're all going to have to wear these to protect yourselves from Monstrox." Merlok explained as Ava handed out the charms.

Ava and Robin put their charms on after Clay and the Knights put theirs on. But Jestro just sat there; hesitating and thinking.

"Go on, Jestro; it's alright." Clay reassured the terrified jester.

Jestro froze for a moment, but he slowly put the charm on; unsure if it was really going to work. He continued to have pessimistic thoughts as Merlok spoke again.

"Alright then. If we go now, we should make it back to Knighton just before one in the morning. But it might be best if we all get some rest, and sleep." Merlok advised before telling Ava to call the king and queen.

* * *

It was at least ten thirty at night when everyone was going to bed; hoping the charms would work against Monstrox. Merlok said they would make it back to Knighton by one in the morning, but he did say it would be best if they got some well-deserved rest. Everyone else had gone to bed. But Clay and Jestro were still up and in the blue Knights room of the Fortrex. Clay had taken his armour off and was just wearing his gear underneath. Jestro was just wearing the pants of his jester outfit and a white tank top he had underneath his shirt. He washed off a bit of his makeup and took off his hat; showing the wild mess of brown hair underneath. Jestro was sitting on the floor as he stared at the wall in front of him. Clay noticed and raised a brow at him.

"You might wanna go to sleep soon, Jestro. It's pretty late." Clay advised.

Jestro looked up at Clay, but quickly turned back when he saw the knight in his underclothes; cheeks going red.

"I'm not tired." Jestro replied back with a lie.

Clay sighed and shook his head.

"I know you're scared of going to sleep right now Jestro, but you'll be okay in the guest room as long as you keep that charm on." Clay reassured.

"It's not sleeping I'm scared of." Jestro corrected the knight.

Clay blinked in concern as Jestro looked up at him with a look of fear.

"It's because of you-know-who being back." He spoke in a slightly shaky voice.

Clay knew who Jestro was talking about. Watching Jestro being scared and terrified like this just made him feel wrong inside; like his guts were twisted in knots. Clay sat down beside Jestro and looked at him.

"Honestly Jestro, I'm scared too." Clay admitted; making Jestro look up at him. "I thought we defeated him for sure after that whole book of betrayal nonsense. Guess I was wrong."

Jestro just sighed before looking down at the floor.

"We were both wrong." Jestro added quietly.

Clay nodded in agreement before standing up.

"I'll take you to your room and show you where you'll be sleeping."

Hearing Clay say that made Jestro nervous. The jester did not want to admit it, but he was too afraid to sleep by himself; with Monstrox being back. He had Merlok's reassurance that the charms would work, but that was not enough for him. Jestro suddenly thought of something that Clay said earlier today. Something about sleeping.

"Umm? Clay?" Jestro spoke out.

"Yes, Jestro?" Clay asked back.

Jestro stood up before asking a question.

"Did you say that you only sleep two hours a night?" He asked with a questionable look and a raised brow.

Clay blinked in confusion at the Jester and his question. But he answered anyway.

"Yes, that's true." The blue knight answered.

Jestro blinked in concern and slight shock. He was going to try and convince Clay to stay with him for the night, but hearing that he only sleeps for that long was a bit unnerving.

"Clay, that is not healthy." Jestro warned quietly.

"Jestro; I only sleep for that long because I have a duty to the Knights code." Clay explained.

Jestro crossed his arms and gave Clay a raised brow.

"Really?"

Clay glanced at the floor as his cheeks went red.

"Well... that and I've never really understood why I should do it." He admitted.

Jestro blinked at Clay as he uncrossed his arms.

"I'm not going to preach to you, Clay. I just thought that maybe you could use some sleep after all that happened yesterday and today." Jestro tried to reason with him. "And I just figured that maybe... I could help you sleep."

Clay raised a brow at the jester.

"Jestro? Are you afraid to sleep by yourself?"

Jestro gave the knight a wide eyed expression before looking away. He kept glancing at Clay and then the wall.

"A little." He muttered as he played with his tank top.

"Because if that's what you're saying, I'll do it." Clay quickly clarified. "Only because I don't want you to get scared in the night and get no sleep at all."

"I just don't want you to get all tired and cranky." Jestro tried to justify himself. "I'm not suggesting anything like that."

Both the knight and the jester looked away as their faces went red and flustered; thinking they both just made everything awkward. Clay made a fake cough before speaking again.

"Well maybe we should go to the guest room. The bed in there is a little bigger." Clay said before putting his hand on his mouth in embarrassment.

Jestro rubbed the back of his neck as he considered the offer.

"Okay. But we should make sure no one sees us." He warned as he flustered some more.

"Why?" Clay asked unaware of what Jestro was trying to imply.

"Well, I don't want the Knights thinking that... We might be... doing something?"

Clay just gave Jestro an odd look before realising what he was trying to say.

"Oh." Clay muttered as his cheeks turned pink and he rubbed his neck. "I'm sure they won't think like that. But I won't say anything. Let's go now."

Clay and Jestro quickly but quietly made their way to the guest room; hoping no one would wake up to see them. Clay quietly opened the door to the guest room. He wasn't really sure why there was a guest room on the Fortrex; even though it used to be the royal family RV. Jestro walked in when Clay let him pass. He looked around the room; seeing the small window in the wall and the queen sized bed in the left corner of the room. Clay watched as Jestro jumped onto the bed with a smile on his face and particularly buried himself under the covers.

"If this charm really works, I'm gonna be so happy." He grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it tightly on the left side of the bed.

Clay smiled a little as Jestro made himself comfortable. But he felt a cold nervous feeling in his guts. He was not sure if this was really right, but he wanted to make sure Jestro felt safe. And he was starting to think that maybe sleeping for more than two hours might be something he could try. Clay hesitated a bit before he climbed into the bed next to his friend; turning the light switch off next to him. While Jestro lied down on his side, Clay was still sitting up. The jester stared at the knight with a slightly stern look.

"You're not gonna stay like that all night are ya?" He questioned.

Clay looked at the lying jester; raising a brow at him.

"I'm just gonna make sure you fall asleep." Clay answered back quietly.

"Well I'm not sleeping unless you do." Jestro bargained with the blue knight. "It's really not healthy, that thing you do where you stay up and train. I just think you need to calm down and relax."

Clay smiled a little with a short and light chuckle.

"Last time I tried to relax, you and Monstrox went on a rampage through the resort I was staying at." Clay remembered that day.

Jestro looked at Clay was a slightly irritated stare before turning to face the side of the room.

"I don't like talking about him." He replied in a rather quiet tone. "I don't want to be associated with him."

Clay blinked in concern; thinking he struck a nerve for Jestro.

"Sorry, Jestro. I didn't mean-"

"It's okay, Clay." Jestro quickly forgave the knight. "It's just with this whole dream demon thing and with you-know-who being back; I just want things to be normal. Back when there were not evil books or necromancers to worry about."

Clay looked as Jestro said those things. He wished everything could be the way it was before the book of Monsters. But he wished he could have gotten to the library before Jestro could be influenced by the villain and Merlok would never have been turned into a hologram. But he could not change the past. With a silent sigh, Clay lied down on his side of the bed and gently wrapped his arms around Jestro. Jestro let out a tiny squeak as he felt the knight holding him in a rather protective manner.

"I don't know what Monstrox wants with you. But I'm not going to let him take you again." Clay promised to the jester.

Jestro felt his cheeks turning pink as he listened to what Clay just said. He wanted to reply, but he felt his eyelids getting a little heavy. Knowing he was about to drift off, Jestro asked Clay a question.

"Hey, Clay?"

"Yes, Jestro?"

Clay listened as Jestro tiredly asked him a question.

"Are we still doing that vacation at the beach?" He asked with a light yawn.

Though Jestro could not see it, Clay nodded.

"Yeah, it's still on as far as I know." Clay answered.

Clay could hear Jestro making a satisfied hmm before he heard nothing; knowing Jestro was finally asleep. Hopefully with no nightmares or dream demon necromancer attacks. Clay was still awake for a few minutes as he thought things. He thought about some of the days of his life. When he met Macy, Lance, Axl and Aaron. And when he met Jestro. He thought about how much he cherished their friendship and how it worried him when Monstrox tried to turn him into something he was not. After Jestro had a change of heart and betrayed the book, Clay was quite happy and relieved to have his friend back; even though everyone else was not that happy or excited about it. After everything that happened, Clay was glad everything went back to normal. Though Clay would often take time to see that Jestro was doing okay with his new line of work, he always took the time to think about how grateful he is to have his best friend safe and unharmed by evil. But sometimes... Clay would think about him, and always one thing came to mind.

"Maybe we can be more than friends."

Clay shook his head as he dismissed the thought; thinking it was not appropriate at the moment. He just decided to keep his promise that he would get some sleep for more than two hours.

* * *

 **AN: Finally, some Claytro like I promised. Hopefully with a little to come later.**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Sorry if this chapter seems late. I've been sick.**

* * *

 _ **The Morning After**_

* * *

 **Merlok opened his eyes to see nothing but white in front of him. The wizard looked around and turned his head left and right. He scratche his digital head with his digital hand. But he went wide eyed when noticed something. It was not digital. The wizard looked at the flesh tone of his hand and the blue fabric of his sleeve. He looked down at his white beard and the rest of his flesh and blood body; dumbfounded by what was happening.**

 **"What in the name of Dr Strange is this?" He questioned as he looked at his non digital form.**

 **But Merlok quickly snapped out of his confusion when he heard an odd sound behind him. The wizard turned to see someone in the distance; hunched over with their back turned to him. The wizard slowly approached and realised that the sound he was hearing was someone crying. He soon realised it was coming from the figure. As Merlok approached, he quickly noticed some of their features; like curly brunette hair and a green sleeveless dress.**

 **"Ms? Are you alright?" Merlok assumed the figure was a woman because of the dress.**

 **When Merlok spoke, the woman stopped crying and went still. Merlok almost became unnerved by this when she took her hands away from her face and slowly stood up.**

 **"Why didn't you help me?"**

 **Merlok silently gasped when he heard the woman speak in a voice he didn't hear for many years.**

 **"Wanda?" He questioned in shock.**

 **But Merlok flinched and looked around frantically as the white around them turned into black. The wizard watched as the woman clutched her fists; her skin, dress and hair changing into grey, black and blue colours. Merlok took a step back as the figure turned and showed her face; revealing an enraged tearful stare with yellow glowing eyes that pierced into the wizard's soul.**

 **"You let this happen! You let me turn into this thing!" The stone witch shouted at the frightened and confused wizard.**

 **Merlok tried to step away as electricity began to surge through the witchs' hair.**

 **"Wanda, I did everything I could!" Merlok tried to defend himself as Wanda approached him. "I didn't know how to save you-"**

 **"And what about your nephew, Merlok!?" The enraged witch shouted as she prepared to attack her brother. "WHAT ABOUT MY SON!?"**

 **Merlok could only cover his face as Wanda shot a bolt of lightning out of her hands and attacked the helpless wizard.**

* * *

Merlok made a short scream as he awoke with a jolt. He began to breathe heavily until he realised that he was in the main room of the Fortrex. He looked down to see that he was still a hologram; not in physical form. Merlok shook his head as he tried to wake himself up completely; realising that he was just having a dream. A dream about someone he missed dearly. The digital wizard brought his hand his to head as he quietly groaned in discomfort; unsure of what made him dream about his sister like that.

Meanwhile, Clay slowly opened his eyes. He was expecting to wake up in his room of the Fortrex. But he blinked in confusion when he saw that he had his arms around Jestro. He just remembered what happened last night; knowing that nothing big happened and they had nothing to keep a secret to the Knights. Maybe except sleeping in the same bed, but that was it. Clay let go of the jester and sat up; looking him as he slept soundly against the pillow and sheets. Clay smiled at how peaceful and content he looked. But he just wanted to make sure.

"Jestro?" Clay gently shook him awake.

Jestro made a light groan as he awoke from his rest; Looking up at Clay with a tired and half-awake stare.

"What?" He spoke in a tired voice.

"How did you sleep last night?" Clay asked; hoping for a positive response.

Jestro just stared at Clay with a sleepy face before he realised what happened last night. He went wide eyed when he remembered what he had around his neck.

"I didn't have any nightmares last night." Jestro muttered as he looked down at the charm.

Clay made a light oof sound as Jestro smiled and hugged him tightly.

"I didn't have any nightmares last night!" He repeated in sheer joy.

Clay hugged back as he smiled as well. But the hug was over when they heard someone knocking at the door.

"Hey, Jestro?"

Jestro silently panicked as he heard Macy's voice behind the door.

"Clay, hide!" He whisper shouted and pointed at the bottom of his side of the bed.

Clay just raised a brow before jumping down and hiding himself behind Jestros' side of the bed. Jestro brushed himself off began clearing his throat.

"Yes, Macy?" He answered back.

Jestro watched as Macy opened the door; already in her day clothes and doing her hair for the day.

"Axl just wanted me to tell you that we're having chocolate stuffed pancakes for breakfast." She explained as she tied her hair into her ponytail style.

"That sounds great! I'll be there in a minute." Jestro replied with a nervous smile.

Macy nodded and was about to leave. But she quickly changed her mind.

"By the way, have you seen Clay anywhere?" She asked; making Jestro stare at her with wide eyes. "I knocked on his door and he didn't answer.

Jestro scratched his head as he tried to think of an answer.

"Maybe, he went for a morning walk or jog. I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders as he answered.

Macy nodded and shrugged; giving Jestro an 'okay' before closing his door and leaving. Jestro gave a sigh of relief as Clay stood up. He brushed himself off as looked at Jestro.

"Thanks for staying with me last night, Clay." Jestro looked down as his cheeks turned pink.

Clay smiled as he gently grabbed the jesters hand and held it.

"I'm happy you finally got some sleep, Jestro. Guess the charm really worked against you-know-who." He spoke with a gentle tone.

Jestro shyly smiled back before looking towards the door in worry.

"You should probably go down to breakfast before everyone starts wandering where you are." He lightly recommended.

Clay nodded before smiling with a 'see you later' before leaving Jestro alone in the room. With a sigh, Jestro fell backwards onto the bed; thinking he could lay for a few minutes before going to get breakfast.

* * *

Clay stretched his arms up high as he walked into the dining room; fully dressed in his Knights uniform. All the Knights and the two children were sitting at the table; digging into the chocolate pancakes made by Axl.

"Morning, everyone." Clay greeted as he took a seat next to Aaron.

"Morning, Clay!" Everyone greeted back; some with mouths full of food.

In a matter of seconds, Merlok appeared on a screen next to the dining table.

"Good morning everyone." The digital wizard greeted.

"Hey, Merlok!" Everyone greeted back.

"Good news, Merlok. The charm worked. Jestro didn't have any nightmares last night." Clay informed the holographic wizard.

"Why, that's excellent Clay." Merlok replied back before noticing an empty seat at the table. "Where is he, by the way?"

"He was in his room when I checked on him." Macy answered as she coated her pancakes in maple syrup. "Either he went back to sleep he takes forever to get dressed."

"As long as he got a good night's sleep." Axl added before eating another pancake.

"Hopefully, the dream program didn't have any negative on him or any of you." Ava added as she cut her pancake into little slices. "I might have to run some tests on some of you to make sure."

Everyone quickly gave Ava worried looks before dropping their forks and stopped eating. Everyone turned when they saw Jestro come in his usual outfit.

"Hey guys; is breakfast still going?" He asked in a rather cheerful tone as he sat next to Axl.

"It's over for me." Lance said rather bluntly; colour slightly draining from his face.

Jestro raised a brow as he wondered what was going on. But the sound of a ring tone made everyone look at Lance. The white knight quickly pulled his phone out if his pocket and looked at the contact before standing up.

"BRB, guys; I gotta take this call from Dennis." He said before answering and putting the phone up to his ear. "Hey Dennis; what's up?"

Everyone just shrugged before getting back to their pancakes. Merlok just put his head down in thought; thinking of the dream he had of his sister. But they did not notice that Lance's expression changed from cheery to wide eyed and worried.

"What do you mean? What happened?!"

Everyone paused as they heard Lance talk into the phone in a worried voice. Something that he almost never did. They watched in concern as more colour drained from his face before he spoke again.

"I'll, be right there." He spoke in an almost shaky voice before hanging up.

Lance just stood there with his phone in his hand; shaking like a terrified rattle snake. Clay stood up and went over to him as everyone watched in concern. Especially Jestro.

"Lance, what's wrong?" Clay asked his friend.

Everyone watched as the rich knight turned to them with a fearful stare on the verge of tears.

"Izzy." He spoke in a shaky voice. "She was in an accident. She's in the hospital."


	12. Chapter 12

_**Hospital Visit**_

* * *

"Lance, Slow down!"

The Knights, the Jester and the two children chased after Lance as he ran out of the Fortrex and straight towards the hospital. The white knight came to a halt when he spotted Dennis and Hamletta outside the entrance.

"Dennis!" He shouted out as he ran towards the squirebot.

Hamletta made a loud oink as she ran up to her owner while Dennis gave his master a worried face.

"Your parents and I came to the hospital as soon as we heard, but I had to stay out here because they won't let animals in." Dennis explained as he fidgeted with his robot hands.

"How badly is she hurt!?" Lance questioned about Izzy's condition as the others caught up with him.

"I don't know, Master Lance! I just got the call and then I called you."

Lance quickly ran inside the building as Dennis held Hamletta back. Lance ran past some visitors and patients as he made his way to the front desk.

"Where's Isabella Richmond!?" He questioned rather aggressively.

The squirebot behind the desk almost flinched as he tried to answer.

"Level two, room twenty eight." He answered in a shaky voice.

Everyone ran after Lance as he ran from the desk, made his way to the elevators and pressed the up button repeatedly. Clay quickly grabbed him and pulled him away.

"Lance, you need to calm down!" The blue knight said as he held the white Knight by his shoulders. "Dennis only said Izzy is in the hospital; he didn't say that she was badly hurt."

"Yeah, dude; she might just have a broken arm." Aaron added for reassurance.

"But he said she was in an accident, and she's here! She so must be hurt!" Lance argued as the elevator opened with a ding.

Lance quickly went in and pressed level two as everyone squeezed in with him.

"Well we're going with you to make sure she's alright." Robin said with concern in his voice.

"And to make sure you don't accidentally run over somebody in the hallway." Axl added as the elevator went up.

Everyone waited anxiously as the number on the wall changed from G to 2; showing where they were at the second. As soon as the elevator made a ding sound and the doors opened, Lance ran out and followed the signs on the wall; running straight to room twenty eight. Lance could hear the sound of voices speaking in the room. The white knight made it to the door to see his parents facing away from him. But he put his focus on the familiar face in the hospital bed.

Izzy was sitting up on the bed; dressed in a light green hospital gown and her lower half under a blanket. Her left arm was in a cast and her face had a few light scratches with a couple of stitches. But aside from that she looked fine.

"Big brother!" She spotted Lance in the doorway.

"Izzy! Thank goodness!" He said with relief as he ran up and hugged her. "I came as soon as Dennis called me."

"Not fast enough apparently."

Lance turned and looked up when he heard the familiar sound of his father criticising him. The others came in as Cuthbert and Goldie began speaking rather harshly to their son.

"Where were you when your sister was being attacked?" The mother questioned rather aggressively.

Lance gave the woman a rather angered look before standing.

"I was on one of my missions as a knight, for your information." He talked back in a similar tone to her. "Isn't that what you want me to be doing?"

"I thought you were a host for the morning show." Izzy remembered as she played with her cast.

"Well either way, your sister is stuck in the hospital for two nights and is missing vulnerable school time." Cuthbert said in a rather arrogant tone of voice. "She might miss a test and get a low grade."

"I can just catch up dad, it's not that big of a deal." Izzy insisted.

The others watched in slight worry and disgust as Goldie butted in again.

"What about your arm and your face? The judges at the beauty pageants will take points away because of those hideous scars." She spoke in an over dramatic tone.

Everyone watched as Lance gave the woman a look of shock before looking at Izzy. Izzy put her head down as he expression saddened; making Lance narrow his brow and stare at his 'parents' with angry disgust.

"They're not hideous! If anything they might heal up pretty soon and they won't be there anymore!" Lance almost sounded like he was yelling.

Everyone stared with wide eyes as the rich couple gave each other gobsmacked looks. Lance just gave them a hard stare before crossing his arms.

"Don't you two have other things to do today?" He questioned in quiet sarcasm.

Izzy stared as her parents just stared back before saying yes and goodbye. Everyone stepped to the side as the couple left. Jestro let out a fearful shudder when they were gone.

"I can't believe I actually kidnapped those two at one point." He muttered.

Everyone gave Jestro odd looks before walking towards Izzy and Lance.

"Are you hurt, sis? What happened?" Lance asked a few questions at once.

"I'm okay Lance, really. I just feel a little sore." Izzy reassured her suddenly protective brother.

"You got a few scratches and stitches on you. They should heal nicely." Aaron spoke with a compliment.

"Does your arm hurt?" Robin asked.

"A little." Izzy answered as she tried to scratch her cast. "It's really itchy though."

Clay stepped forward as did Ava.

"We're glad you're okay, Ms Isabella. Lance was worried sick about you." Clay answered in concerned honesty.

"But can you tell us what happened and how you ended up here?" Ava questioned in a gently way.

"Yeah, what happened?" Axl repeated in question.

Everyone watched as Izzy tried to think of how to answer and tell them about whatever attacked her.

"Well, it started out like any other day." She began. "I woke up, had breakfast at the cafeteria and went to first period for history. But I had trouble staying awake because I stayed up late studying. After second period, it was recess. I was playing a game of ball with my friend, Fletcher. But I kicked it too hard and it went over the fence."

"Did you tell a teacher about it?" Macy asked.

Izzy laughed nervously before answering.

"No, I kinda broke the rules and went after it myself." She said with a sheepish smile before getting back to the story. "So I went to look for it, but it rolled off in the really thick bushes and trees. I think I was in there for two minutes before I found it. But..."

Everyone listened as Izzy tried to say the next part.

"Some weird looking thing jumped out and attacked me. Next thing I knew, I was being carried back to the school grounds, put inside an ambulance and taken to the emergency room."

Everyone looked at each other as they processed what Izzy just told them.

"Did some animal attack you?" Aaron asked; trying to get more details.

"I'm not really sure what attacked me." Izzy tried to answer truthfully and honestly. "All I saw was dark black fur, sharp teeth and really scary looking yellow and red eyes."

Everyone else just kept asking questions. But Jestro stared with wide eyes and froze. Clay quickly took notice when the jester ran out of the room when no one else was looking. The blue knight quickly but quietly went after him to see what was wrong.

"Jestro?" He called out quietly not to disturb other patients.

Clay quickly spotted Jestro leaning against a wall with his head down and a hand over his face. Clay became concerned when he noticed that the jester was shaking and making frightened mutters.

"Jestro, what's wrong?" The blue knight quickly asked as he came up to him.

Jestro shook his head as he tried to get something out.

"T-that monster. He can't do that to a child; he can't!" He spoke with a frustrated shout.

"Jestro; take deep breaths." Clay tried to help Jestro calm down and breathe properly. "What's on your mind?"

Jestro got his breathing under control and looked up at Clay with a terrified look in his eyes.

"Izzy said she had trouble staying awake. And she said the thing that attacked her had yellow and red eyes." The jester remembered what the young girl told them.

Clay tried to stay calm. But he almost felt a chill go up his spine as he knew where Jestro was going.

"You-know-who has yellow and red eyes." Jestro began to breathe heavily as he started panicking again. "Izzy's in danger! We have to tell them!"

"Jestro wait." Clay quickly held Jestro back and tried to calm him. "We need to think this through. Monstrox doesn't want Izzy; it's you he's after."

"Then why would he go after her when it's me he wants!? How can he attack in broad daylight!? Why go after Izzy?! She didn't do anything to him!"

Jestro began to sob in frustration as he buried his face in Clay's chest; muttering things that Clay could only just understand.

"Why won't he just disappear? Why won't he just go away?"

Clay held and hugged Jestro as he tried saying comforting things to him. But he tried to think of how he was going to tell Lance about this without making him panic.

After a while, Clay managed to calm Jestro down and went back to the others with him. A half hour more of talking, and it was time to leave and go home. Everyone but Lance said goodbye to Izzy and wished her to get well again soon. Clay was about to walk to the elevator with the others.

"Clay, wait!"

Clay turned back around when he heard Lance call out to him; seeing him standing in the hallway.

"Can I talk to you before you go?" The white knight asked.

Clay nodded before telling the others he would catch up. Lance walked over to him as everyone else left for the elevator.

"Everything okay, Lance?" Clay asked; trying to hide his nervousness from Lance.

Lance rubbed the back of his neck with a worried look on his face.

"This whole thing has got me worried. I'm gonna stay here with Izzy until she gets better." Lance explained to the blue knight.

Clay blinked before responding to that.

"But the staff won't let anyone stay after visiting hours." Clay reminded Lance if one if the rules; almost like it was instinct.

"I don't care; I'm not leaving my sister along in a place like this. I'll grease the doctors' palms if I have to." Lance insisted aggressively.

Clay nodded with slight hesitation. But he respected Lance's decision.

"I can take Hamletta back to my apartment so Dennis can come up here with you." Clay offered to do for his friend.

Clay's expression saddened a bit as he knew he had to talk about what Jestro said.

"But... There's something you need to know. And it involves Izzy."

Lance gave Clay a weirded-out look.

"What do you mean?"

Clay sighed as he tried to think of how to say what he was about to say.

"Jestro thinks that Izzy might have been attacked by Monstrox." The blue knight explained as honestly and gently as he could.

Clay instantly knew he made a mistake when Lance looked at him with a stare of fearful disbelief.

"What're you talking about!? That thing can't attack people unless they're asleep or tired!" The white argued with his colleague.

"Izzy said she stayed up late before she got attacked, and she said whatever attacked her had yellow and red eyes. That's why Jestro thinks it was Monstrox." Clay explained with worry in his eyes. "Honestly, I find it hard not to believe."

Lance just ran his hand through his hair as he began to pace back and forth between the walls of the hall.

"He can't do that. Not to my sister. He can't!" The white spoke his panicked. "What if she falls asleep tonight!? I can't keep her awake in a hospital!"

Clay watched in concern and discomfort as Lance continued to pace and mutter. The blue looked down as he tried to think of something he could do to help. He thought of one way. But if he did it, h would be putting a great deal of risk on himself. But Clay had to follow the Knights code and put the safety of others first. With no hesitation, he reached to the back of his neck and took off his charm; holding it out to Lance. The white knight stopped pacing and stared at Clay with wide surprised eyes.

"Take it and give it to your sister." Clay spoke like he was giving Lance an order.

Lance just stared at the blue knight like he was insane.

"But, you'll become a target. You might have nightmares about him." Lance tried to take him out of it.

"The Knights code says that I must put the safety of others before my own. Right now, Izzys safety is what matters." Clay insisted as he held the charm out to him.

Lance hesitated as he took the charm from Clays hand; thankful that Clay was helping him, but unsure if he knew what he was doing.

"What's Jestro going to say when he sees you without it?" The white knight asked with slight worry.

"I'll manage. You just focus on keeping Izzy safe." Clay answered before saying goodbye to the rich knight.

Lance watched as Clay walked down the hall to the elevators to catch up with the others. Lance looked down at the charm in his hand; wondering what Clay was thinking when he just gave it to him. Lance hoped Clay was making the right choice. And he hoped the blue knight was from any nightmares tonight.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Oh boy, this chapter actually took a while for me. I'm finally over my cold so that's a plus. Well guys, this chapter is going to have a fair amount of Claytro to satisfy. Enjoy.**

* * *

 _ **Confessions**_

* * *

Clay tapped his foot against the floor of the elevator as he wanted for it to reach the ground floor. He heard the ding and walked out when the doors opened. Clay looked into the lobby to see the others waiting for him. Even Dennis was there with Hamletta. Macy looked up and saw Clay coming towards them.

"Where's Lance?" The princess knight asked.

"He said he's going to stay with Izzy until she gets better." Clay explained to his peers before turning to the squirebot. "I told him I would take Hamletta back home with me and look after her while he's with Izzy."

Dennis gave the knight a bewildered stare before coming up to him with the cute farm animal.

"Well, if Master Lance insists." The squirebot spoke quietly as he handed Hamletta over to Clay. "But remember that she only eats any vegetables that go with salads. And there's a chance she might try to sleep at the foot end of your bed. It's best if you let her. She needs to be taken out for long walks at once a day."

Clay gave the squirebot a confused stare as the others snickered and giggled.

"I'll be sure to remember all that." He replied; getting an oink from Hamletta.

"Well, we've all had a long day. We should probably tell Merlok that Izzy is okay and go home." Aaron said as he stretched his arms up over his head.

Everyone but Dennis nodded in agreement and made their way out of the hospital lobby; making their way back to the Fortrex.

* * *

So Ms Isabella is safe?" Merlok asked of the group gathered around him.

"Yes. Lance said he's going to stay at the hospital with her until she gets better." Clay answered to the digital wizard.

"Right after he gave his parents a real talking to." Axl added with a slight snicker.

Merlok gave the group a raised brow in interest.

"He did?" He asked as he rubbed his holographic beard.

"Yeah. They kept saying things like, Izzy can't go to beauty pageants like this; or, she's going to miss school because of this." Macy remembered what the snobby rich couple said in the hospital.

"She didn't look too bad." Aaron added as he played with his shield. "But we weren't not really sure what attacked her though. She just said it was a big black furry animal with scary eyes."

"Maybe it was a bear." Robin theorised and added his opinion.

"Hate to break it to you, but bears don't live anywhere in this part of the kingdom.

As everyone else began to discuss what might have attacked Izzy, Clay stayed silent; knowing what might have really happened. Clay was thankful that Jestro was in the guest room with Hamletta and was not hearing this. The knight was afraid he might tell the others about Monstrox and cause a panic. While Clay did want to tell them, he thought that maybe it could wait. He knew it was not the smartest choice, but he did not want the others to panic. He gave Lance his charm to give to Izzy so she should be safe from Monstrox. But what about himself?

"Clay?"

Clay quickly snapped out of his daze when he heard Macy talking to him. He saw everyone looking at him with confused faces mixed with concern.

"You looked a little out of it, man." Aaron spoke as he put his shield over his back.

"Are you alright, Clay?" Merlok asked out of general concern.

"Yes, I'm fine." Clay quickly answered. "I'm just a bit tired from all that's been happening."

"Clay Moorington? Tired? That's something I've never heard before." Macy spoke with disbelief in her smile.

"Actually, I feel a little sleepy." Axl said as he rubbed his eye.

"Yes. I think we all should go home and have a well-deserved rest." Merlok agreed with the two Knights.

Everyone agreed with Merlok; going home to their families. But Clay stayed behind for a little while to talk to Jestro about something. The knight made his way to the guest room.

"I never really liked pork, but I don't think I could ever become a vegan."

Clay raised an eyebrow when he heard Jestro saying something, along with Hamletta making a few light oink sounds. Clay just ignored it and knocked on the door.

"Yes?" He heard Jestro call out.

"Jestro, it's me." Clay let him know it was him.

"Door's open, Clay."

Clay pressed the button next to the door; opening it and letting him into the guest room. The blue knight saw Jestro sitting on the floor with Hamletta sitting next to him; gently patting her and holding her. Jestro looked up to see Clay in the doorway.

"I didn't know Lance had a pet pig. She's pretty cute." The jester said as he smiled at the curly tailed creature. "When did he get her?"

Clay bit his lip as he tried to think of a way to answer without making Jestro feel bad.

"When you-know-who split us up and captured us one by one." He said quietly with his head down.

Jestro looked up at Clay with a raised brow and small frown.

"Oh. I remember that." He said as he looked back down at Hamletta.

Clay nervously nodded and put his hands behind his back.

"So, everyone has gone home and the Fortrex is going back to the castle in a few minutes." He informed Jestro of what was happening.

"That's nice." Jestro replied with a smile.

Clay nodded in agreement. But there was something he wanted to ask Jestro. Though he wasn't sure if it was right; even though it was similar to what Jestro asked him last night.

"Jestro. I was just wandering..."

Jestro looked up and listened as Clay spoke to him.

"I was wondering... If you would, like to come stay at my apartment for the night?" Clay asked as his cheeks went pink.

Clay thought he made a mistake when Jestro gave him an odd look; thinking he had to clarify.

"Only of you want to!" Clay quickly clarified nervously. "I just thought you might like some company with everything that happened recently. I know I'm looking after Hamletta right now, but-"

"I'd like that."

Clay looked at Jestro with a surprised look; unsure of what he just said.

"P-Pardon?" Clay asked politely.

"Sure. I'd like to stay at your place for the night." Jestro said as he stood up. "Can we just go back to the castle so I can get some of my things? I'll just have to tell the king and queen so they don't think I went mad again and ran away."

Clay nodded a yes before Jestro walked out of the room with a slight jump in his step. Clay could not comprehend what just happened. Clay thought Jestro was going to have an opposite reaction instead of what he just said. The knight put his hand to his mouth as he thought about what he just asked for. He thought of what would happen when they got to his place and how he was going to make sure Jestro did not know that he gave his charm to Lance. Right now, he wanted everything to stay calm.

* * *

Clay opened the door to his apartment and stepped in with Hamletta; letting Jestro inside and holding the door.

"It's a little small, but it's comfortable." Clay said as the Jester walked in with a small bag.

Jestro looked around as he placed his bag on a table next to the sofa. He nodded as he looked at the necessities of the small apartment. A few lights on the ceiling, a couple of small square shaped windows, a small holovision screen on the wall across from the sofa, a doorway to the kitchen and a couple of doorways leading to the bathroom and Clays bedroom.

"This is nice." Jestro commented with a smile; opening his bag and getting something out. "Would it be okay with you if I took a shower?"

"Sure; just go through the left doorway and straight ahead to the bathroom. There're towels hanging on the wall." Clay gave the jester directions to use.

Clay blinked in confusion when he saw what Jestro took out of his bag. He had a pair of what he assumed was pyjamas. But he had some sort of little box shaped object as well.

"What's that?" Clay asked; pointing at the little purple box.

"Oh this?" Jestro held the object in front of him. "It's just a portable speaker that the king gave me a while back. I like to listen to music while I'm showering."

Jestro realised what he just said and shyly looked away from Clay; wearing an embarrassed frown.

"That probably sounds weird." He spoke quietly with his head down.

"No, it's not weird at all." Clay reassured the jester; making him look up. "I'm sure a lot of people would do it. If I had one of those speakers, I'd do it."

Jestro held in a light snicker as a smile came on. He appreciated Clay for trying to cheer him up and reassure him.

"I better go freshen up." The jester said as he walked towards the bathroom. "I'll try to be quick."

"Take your time Jestro; I don't mind." Clay insisted. "I'll just set up the bed for you."

When he heard the door to the bathroom open and close, Clay quickly ran to the table next to the sofa and opened the draw inside it. The blue knight found some string; similar to the one Mr Blackstone used for the Charms. Clay took a lengthy amount of string and cut it with a pair of scissors as he heard the water turn on. He found some paper clips to bend and use to pretend he still had the charm. He just had to keep it under his shirt when Jestro was around him. Clay bent the paper clips into a shape similar to the charm and tied them into the string. Clay took off his armour; showing his clothes underneath and put the fake charm on around his neck and under his shirt. Clay looked up as he heard music coming from the bathroom; assuming Jestro was using that speaker he brought with him. Clay was about to set up the sofa bed when he heard and listened to the song being played. He heard lyrics that sang about love and books. Clay thought Jestro would have been put off books after what happened. Maybe it was just books with scary faces on the cover. Clay listened to the music a little more as the song sang something along the lines of-

 _'The book of love has music in it._

 _In fact that's where music comes from._

 _Some of it's transcendental,_

 _Some of it's just really dumb'_

Clay stopped for a moment to listen a bit more; wondering if Jestro was humming along. But Clay quickly shook his head and went back to setting up the bed when his thoughts were becoming a bit graphic. After a few minutes, the song was over, the water turned off and Clay was just putting a warm quilt on top of the bed; finishing it and making it look comfortable and sleep worthy for his guest. Before Clay could blink, Hamletta jumped onto the bed and lied down on her side; thinking the bed was hers.

"No, Hamletta; you're going to be in my room." Clay corrected; getting a reluctant oink from Hamletta.

Clay heard the door to the bathroom open and saw a familiar face emerge from the corner. Jestro rubbed the towel against his head to dry his hair while Clay observed him. The blue looked down and blinked at the pyjamas he was wearing. Red flannel two-piece with the nightmare prevention charm hanging on top of the shirt piece. Clay continued to saw at the red and black flannel pattern; thinking he saw it somewhere before. Jestro took the towel away from his head; showing his hair darkened and slightly damp from the leftover water. The jester looked up as Clay still stared.

"Clay?" He spoke in slight concern.

Clay quickly came back to earth when he heard his name being spoken. He saw Jestro standing in front of him with the used towel in his hands.

"Where do you put your dirty laundry?" The Jester asked for directions.

"Oh don't worry about it; I'll take it down to get washed in the morning." Clay said as he took the towel. "We should probably have something to eat. There's some crumbed chicken and salad in the fridge."

"That sounds good." Jestro smiled with his response.

Hamletta made a happy sounding oink sound in response.

After a couple of minutes, Clay heated up the leftover chicken and served it with the salad. The knight and jester sat at a small table in the kitchen while Hamletta sat beside them; giving her a well amount of lettuce and carrots to eat.

"This is pretty good." Jestro commented before eating a bit of carrot.

"Glad you like it." Clay answered back with a slight smile. "I was afraid I wouldn't live up to all the gourmet meals in the castle."

Clay noticed that Jestro frowned a little as he finished speaking.

"What's wrong?" Clay asked.

"It's nothing." Jestro insisted but continued. "I never really like going to the castle kitchen anymore. Most of the servants don't trust me after what happened."

Clay blinked in concern and confusion as he heard this.

"Sometimes I feel like I know what they're thinking. Like 'look out here comes the guy who tried to destroy the kingdom' or 'it's the evil jester; don't look at him'. I just prefer to eat the free salads and foods we get at the studio."

Clay watched as Jestro took a sip of water; disgusted by how people were treating him.

"It's not your fault. They just don't know that." Clay tried to comfort him and reassure him.

Jestro glanced at Clay before putting his cup down and fiddling with his pyjamas.

"I'm not worried about it. I know they'll probably forget about it in a few years." He confused before changing the subject. "But... I'm pretty worried about Izzy."

Clay looked down with a worried face as he remembered the events of today.

"Lance is with her. I know she'll be okay." He tried to reassure the jester. "Maybe he's sharing his charm with her."

"Yeah, it's like you said before. It's not Izzy he wants; it's me." Jestro responded as he played with his fork and salad. "What if he's trying to scare me and put me in a panic? Like he's trying to literally scare me to death?"

Clay was not really sure how to respond Jestros' paranoid theory. He hated seeing his dear friend stressed and worried like this. He wanted to reassure him and tell him it was going to be okay. But every time the thought of comforting Jestro crossed his mind, Clay would cross into a different state of mind. The blue knight could not hold it in any longer. He put down his utensils and looked straight at the jester.

"I need to talk to you about something."

Jestro gave Clay a slightly confused look; slightly unnerved by his serious tone and expression.

"About w-what?" He asked with a quiet stutter.

Clay took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"Do you remember the Knights academy? When we were kids?" Clay asked a question.

Jestro smiled a little as he remembered the day he met Clay.

"Yeah. That's pretty much how we became friends." He said as he recalled the moment.

Clay paused for a moment as he pieced his words together in his head.

"This whole situation has been making me think. It's been making think about everything we've done together." He spoke as he played with his shirt.

Jestro listened closely as Clay continued; Hamletta coming over and leaning against him.

"When I first met you, I thought very highly of you. And I still do. I know you didn't do so well at the academy. But I always and still believed in you. I always thought you're capable of more than you or anyone thought."

Jestro felt his cheeks flush a bit as Clay spoke.

"But the day I and the Knights graduated from the academy. The day... when..."

Clay had trouble getting the next sentence out. But Jestro knew what he was trying to say.

"It's alright, Clay. I know what you're talking about." The jester said; telling him to continue.

Clay nodded and continued even though he was beginning to struggle.

"When I saw what he did to you, I was devastated. I was always blaming myself that I couldn't get to you in the library in time and stop you from opening that book. I could have saved you and Merlok from your fates."

"Well, I'm back to normal now and Merlok is still with us. Just not physically." Jestro tried to reassure Clay; being a bit too honest.

Clay just sighed and stood up; walking to the sofa bed and sitting down with his face in his hands. Jestro quickly got up, followed him and sat next to him; Hamletta following him.

"I just get so worried about you." Clay continued to speak. "When we finally defeated the book and you were back to your normal form, I thought that was it. I thought everything was back to the way it should be. But everything that's been happening now has just made me worried sick about you."

Jestro gave Clay a very concerned look; never seeing Clay like this before.

"And every time I think about you, I start thinking about us."

Jestro looked at Clay was a now confused stare; unsure of what he was trying to say.

"About us?" He repeated in question.

"I don't know why. Whenever I think of you, I start thinking about our friendship. But... but then I..."

Clay was unable to get the next sentence out. But it kept repeating in his head.

 _"More than just friends."_

 _"More than just friends."_

 _"More than just friends."_

Clay felt a slight shiver in his back as he felt Jestro grab his hand and hold it. Hamletta just watched with a slight head tilt.

"Clay, whatever you have to say, you can say it. I won't judge." Jestro reassured; completely unaware of what was about to happen.

Clay looked down as he held in his breath; knowing what he wanted to say, but feeling like an invisible chain was holding him and his voice back. With a frustrated exhale, Clay gently but forcefully grabbed Jestro by his shoulders; taking the jester by worried surprise.

"Clay, what're you-"

Clay cut Jestro off by pulling him in and doing the unthinkable. He kissed him. Jestro went wide eyed as he felt Clay press his lips against his; breaking it up after a few seconds. Hamletta watched in complete confusion as the pair just stared at each other. But Clay looked down and stood up as he began to panic.

"I'm sorry." The knight apologised with panic in his voice.

Jestro watched as Clay ran out into the hall; hearing a door slam. Jestro quickly stood up and ran after him with Hamletta following. Jestro knocked on the door to Clay's room.

"Clay?" He called out; but no reply. "Clay; please come out. Tell me why you kissed me."

Clay just sat on the end of his bed with his head in his hands; thinking he made a terrible mistake. He stayed quiet as Jestro continued to call out.

"Clay; I'm not mad at you, I just want to know."

Clay stayed silent and still; even though Jestro knew he was there. Jestro did not understand why Clay was being this way. But he was not angry or upset. Just... surprised. Jestro nodded as he turned around; holding his arms and looking over his shoulder.

"Okay. I'll just brush my teeth and go to bed." He spoke; finally giving in. "See you in the morning."

Clay looked up as he thought he heard Jestro stepping away from the door. The knight took his hands away from his face; thinking that what he did was just immature. Not straight up kissing his best friend, but running away like that. Clay just sat there for a few minutes before taking a deep sigh. He stood up out of his bed and opened the door; walking into the living room to see Jestro getting ready for bed. Clay was about to speak, but Jestro noticed him quickly.

"I'm just making sure the sofa bed's comfy. I know you set it up and it probably is." The jester spoke like there was nothing wrong.

Clay felt uneasy as he fiddled with his shirt. But he had to say something.

"I'm sorry about what I did." He apologised again.

"Clay I told you, I'm not mad." Jestro replied with a small about of stern in his voice. "I just want to know why you kissed me."

Clay took a small breath before giving Jestro a reply.

"I know this might sound a bit odd and ludicrous. But everything that has happened for the past few days as made me realise how much I value our friendship." He explained as his cheeks slowly turned pink and flustered. "And now I realise... that I want it to be more than that."

Clay wanted for Jestro to go off at him and tell that he was a sicko. But he got a rather opposite reaction. Jestro put his hand to his chin in thought; processing what Clay just said and coming to one conclusion.

"Clay? Are you saying that... you're in love with me?" He asked with no subtlety at all.

Clay wanted to say yes. But he could only nod frantically. Jestro took an exhale and sat down.

"Boy, that's a lot to take in." The jester spoke quietly before looking up at Clay. "But why didn't you just tell me?"

"I didn't want to ruin what we already have. What I just did was completely impulsive." Clay tried to explain his behaviour. "But the idea of losing you to Monstrox again makes me afraid and worried. I was afraid that if I didn't tell you how I really felt soon, then I'd never get the chance."

Jestro as Clay leaned against the doorway with his hand going through his hair; breathing heavily and looking like he was going to pass out. Jestro was glad Clay was getting stuff off his chest, but he did not want the knight to stress himself out so much. With a short smile, Jestro put himself onto the sofa bed and pushed the blanket off.

"We can take things slow if it helps." He spoke up; getting Clay to look up in a slightly confused way.

Jestro pushed a bit of his hair out of his face before he spoke again.

"If we're being honest and open here, I should probably confess. I've always thought of you as my best friend, Clay. You always helped me get back up when I was down. And you were one of the few people who believed in me. I never really pictured myself with a girlfriend or a boyfriend; for a few reasons."

Clay blinked as Jestro said the last part of the sentence; thinking that he would be an excellent partner for anyone.

"Though hearing you say that you want us to be more... That's actually pretty mind blowing."

"How so?" Clay asked rather nervously.

Jestro looked down and played with his pyjama shirt as he tried to think of how to answer back.

"Well... I really can't lie to you Clay." He said as he looked up with a slightly nervous face. "I've always had a small crush on you."

Clay blinked in surprise when Jestro said the word 'crush'; but listened as he continued.

"But I know we couldn't be together without being judged because... well you're a knight and I'm a jester. I know there's no law saying we can't; but people would say things. And I did try to destroy the kingdom-"

"That wasn't your doing!"

Jestro flinched as he heard Clay interrupt him with a slight yell. He saw Clay leaning against the doorway; like he was having trouble standing up. Jestro shook his head before crawling to the other side of the bed and sitting there. He looked up at Clay as he put his hand on the spot next to him and pat against it.

"Come here."

Clay stared in confusion as Jestro looked back at him; unsure of what Jestro was implying.

"You look like you need sleep. Come on."

Clay knew what Jestro was doing; like he did last night. Though Clay hesitated a little, even though he pretty much poured his heart out to Jestro. Clay turned off the ceiling lights before climbing onto the sofa and took a seat next to the jester. Though the knight looked at him with an almost absent stare.

"I just never understood why sleep is so important." Clay confused as Hamletta lied down at the foot of the bed.

Jestro quietly sighed as he lied down on his side next to Clay.

"I worry about you sometimes." He spoke quietly as his eyelids became heavy.

Clay slid down and lied on his back as he pulled the blankets over himself and Jestro.

"Not as much as I worry about you." He replied back as he folded his hands over his front.

Clay felt a slight shiver go up his spine as Jestro put his arms around him and laid his head against his shoulder.

"If we're really going to be in a relationship, we might have to wait a while before telling everyone." He spoke quietly before a yawn came out.

Clay nodded a bit before replying.

"Hopefully before we all go on that trip together." Clay suggested.

Clay waited for a reply, but he turned his head to see Jestro asleep. Clay looked at his feet to see Hamletta asleep and snoring. Clay soon stared at the ceiling as he felt his eyelids getting heavy. He thought about what just happened. He wandered if what he did was the right thing. He thought of what he thought of last night before he fell asleep.

 _"Maybe we can be more than friends."_

But this time, he welcomed the thought. He did not feel the need to repress it. He felt like he could dream well tonight.

* * *

 **AN: To be honest, I got a bit nervous while writing the kiss scene; mostly because i'm terrible at writing about kisses. Well at least Clay is at ease with himself and Jestro is safe... But for how long? Tune in next time to find out.**

 **BTW the song Jestro was listening to in the shower was the book of love by Peter Gabriel.**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: R &R is welcome guys, don't be shy**

* * *

 _ **If It Never Worked**_

* * *

 **"Moorington..."**

 **"..."**

 **"Moorington..."**

 **"..."**

 **"MOORINGTON!"**

 **Clay jolted awake with a gasped as he heard someone yell in his ear. The knight got his breathing under control as he looked around the darkness of his living room; seeing Hamletta sleeping at the foot of the bed as his eyes adjusted to the dark. Clay looked into the right corner of his eye; thinking Jestro was asleep next to him. But something was wrong.**

 **Clay looked down to see that Jestros' spot was empty. Maybe he got up to use the bathroom. But Clay felt the sheets of the bed to see they were cut and ripped into ribbons; making the Knights panic level elevate. As Clay tried to think of what happened, he heard a faint sound coming from down the hall. The knight got up and followed the noise.**

 **"... Still insists... ghosts..."**

 **Clay heard the sound of someone mumbling as he slowly approached through the hallway; hearing it getting clearer as he went down the hall.**

 **"He thrusts his fists against the post..."**

 **Clay saw light leaking from the gap under the bathroom door as he heard Jestros' voice mumbling something. He quietly put his hand on the door knob and slowly opened the door.**

 **"And still insists he sees ghosts."**

 **Clay peeked through into the bathroom to see Jestro sitting in the middle of the room; facing away from the door and rocking back and forth while mumbling the same thing over and over. Clay watched for a few moments; being unnerved and frightened as he continued to watch before having enough.**

 **"Jestro?"**

 **As soon as Clay opened his mouth, Jestro went silent and still. Clay felt a chill go up his spine as he heard heavy breathing.**

 **"You can't do it."**

 **Clay took a step back as Jestro stood up with his back turned to Clay; continuing to breath heavily with his hands out of Clays vision. But Clay felt like he was about to have a heart attack when Jestro took his hands away from his front.**

 **"You can't protect him!"**

 **Jestro turned to Clay with an enraged scowl and a knife in his hand. He charged at Clay with his hand up high and screamed bloody murder. Clay quickly grabbed Jestros' hand and stopped the incoming attack from the knife. But the knight struggled as he tried to push the screaming jester away. Clay panicked as he knew something was wrong. Jestros' eyes were red and yellow and his voice was becoming distorted as he screamed at Clay. The enraged jester kicked Clay to the floor. Clay tried to get away, but the last thing he saw was a knife plummeting into his chest!**

* * *

Clay sat straight up as he awoke with a terrified gasp for air. The knight breathed heavily as sunlight from the window hit him. He looked to the right of him to see that Jestro was nowhere to be found; elevating his panic level a bit before he heard a light oink coming from under the bed. Clay got out and looked under to see Hamletta under the bed; shaking and making little frightened oinks.

"Hamletta; what's the matter?" The blue knight asked the frightened pig.

Just then, Clay heard a faint sound coming from the kitchen. The knight slowly approached as he listened to the small noises; trying to figure out what they were. Clay quietly made his way into the kitchen to see Jestro sitting at the table. But Clay blinked in worried confusion when he saw sheets of paper scattered all over the kitchen. He looked at Jestro to see him with a pen in his hand; scribbling on one sheet of paper, tossing it aside and moving on to another one. But Jestro was not looking at what he was doing. He just stared at the empty space in front of him; completely distant. Clay slowly approached and carefully stepped over all the paper; putting his hand on Jestros' shoulder.

"Jestro?" He spoke as he gently shook him.

Jestro blinked and shook his head as he made a confused gasp. He looked around the paper infested kitchen before looking up at Clay.

"Clay? What's going on?" He asked in confusion; like he did not know what he just did.

Clay looked at all the sheets of paper; thinking they were just all scribbled on with lines with no meaning. But the knight looked closer to see a rather unnerving sentence repeating on every single paper. 'Answer your phone.'

"You tell me, buddy." Clay replied with a quiet tone of worry.

The pair jumped and flinched when they heard loud ringing coming from the counter. Clay looked at the paper and its sentence before looking back at the ringing phone. Jestro watched as Clay walked over to the counter and hesitated to answer the phone. But the knight pressed the accept button and held the phone against his ear.

"... Hello?" He answered quietly.

Clay blinked as he heard a deep chuckle on the other side of the line before someone with a deep voice spoke to him.

"I touched him."

Clay barely had anytime to process what the stranger said to him before he felt something against his ear. Clay looked with wide eyes and threw his phone to the side with a disgusted grunt as black slime oozed out of the phone. Clay heard a sickly gasp come out of Jestro. He quickly turned to see Jestro falling out of his chair and hitting the floor. The blue knight quickly came over and looked in horror as Jestro began to shake violently with blood flowing out of his nose with painful groans and foam coming out of his mouth.

"Jestro!? Jestro!?"

Clay quickly responded to Jestros' silence by picking him up and carrying him out the door; telling him he was taking him to the hospital and he was going to be okay.

* * *

Clay waited anxiously as the doctor examined Jestro. On the way to the hospital, Jestro was shaking and forming at the mouth like he did at the apartment. But as soon as they made it to the medical centre, he came to and recovered apart from the nose bleeds and coughing up whatever was left of the form. The doctor made a worried hmmm as he shined a flashlight into Jestros eye.

"You said he was shaking and foaming from the mouth?" The doctor asked Clay.

"Only until we got here. And he had a massive nosebleed as well." Clay answered truthfully.

Jestro blinked and rubbed his eye as the doctor took the torch away and came up with a diagnosis.

"Well, I can't say for sure what you may have suffered. But I if I have to dial it down to anything, you might have had a mild epileptic attack or a mini stroke." He theorised as he adjusted his glasses.

"I had a stroke!?" Jestro repeated with a panicky squeak.

"No, you might have. But there's a very large chance that you didn't. But then there's the possibility of epilepsy. Have you had any injuries to the head in your life or recently?"

Jestro just shook his head no.

"What about when you were born?" The doctor continued with questions.

"He wouldn't know. He's an orphan." Clay clarified.

The doctor raised a brow at the knight before turning back to Jestro with the same look. Jestro nodded a yes; telling him what Clay said was true.

"Well, we can't take any chances. While it's very likely that you are healthy, we might have to keep you in overnight and run a few tests." The doctor explained.

Jestro looked at Clay with a look of fear; but Clay quickly responded to him and held his hand.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Jestro. They're just going to make sure you're okay." The blue knight reassured the jester.

"But I don't like hospitals, Clay. They frighten me." Jestro replied with fear in his voice.

"You were fine when we visited Izzy yesterday."

"But the poor girl had to stay overnight. It gets really creepy around that time."

Before Clay could respond again, he heard footsteps coming to the room they were in. They looked towards the door to see several familiar faces.

"My goodness! What happened!?" The king questioned as he came in with the queen, the Knights, Ava and Robin and a Squirebot.

"Your majesty! What're you all doing here!?" Jestro questioned as everyone crowded around the hospital bed.

"We came to make sure you were okay." The queen said as she stepped forward.

"Clay messaged us when he took you to the hospital." Aaron added and answered. "You sounded pretty bad on the communication line."

"I did?" Jestro replied back with a nervous and embarrassed look on his face.

"You look okay now." Robin complimented.

Everyone nodded in agreement. But Macy and Ava raised a brow as they looked at Clay and his pyjamas. Clay noticed and rubbed his neck in embarrassment.

"I didn't have time to get dressed." The blue knight admitted as his face went red.

"That's understandable, Clay." Ava eased him of his embarrassment.

"But who's looking after Hamletta?" Macy asked in curiosity.

Clay went wide as he realised that he left Hamletta at his apartment.

"Oh no!" He groaned as he covered his face with his hands.

He turned to Jestro and held his hand again.

"I'm sorry Jestro; I just need to make Hamletta hasn't wondered off. I'll come back to check on you tomorrow. I promise." Clay spoke in a quick and rushed voice.

"Alright, Clay. But calm down a bit; you're stressing out again." Jestro warned in a gentle tone.

Clay slowed down a little before he nodded and said goodbye. Everyone watched as the blue knight ran out the room to leave. Everyone saw two familiar faces go passed before they realised who they were.

"Hey Lance! Izzy!" Axl called out.

They quickly gained the attention of Lance and his little sister; making them looked into the room with surprised looks.

"Hey, what's happening here?" Lance asked as he took a sip of coffee.

"Hi Lance. Hey Izzy." Jestro greeted from his hospital bed.

The pair blinked in confusion at the sight of the jester before the doctor stepped in.

"I regret to inform you, but Mr Jestro can't have this many visitors at once." He informed rather strictly.

The Knights and the two children groaned with disappointment. But they had to obey the rules of the hospital. The group all said goodbye to Jestro and wished him well; some saying they would come back later if they had time. Lance and Izzy were the only visitors in the room; watching as the doctor wrote something on his clipboard before looking back at Jestro.

"Is there anything you think I should know before we run any tests on you later?" He asked the jester for more information.

"Well I did have a fainting episode a few days ago and a few bad dreams." Jestro spoke honestly.

The doctor nodded as he finished writing up a report.

"Alright. Just rest up and later we'll have an MRI done on you. Just to make sure there's nothing off in your brain." He informed.

"Oh you have no idea." Jestro thought in his head as the doctor walked towards the door.

"I'll be back in a few minutes and leave you all to talk."

Lance and Izzy watched the doctor leave before turning to Jestro.

"What happened to you, J-man?" Lance questioned before sipping his coffee.

"Something happened to me this morning." Jestro began to explain. "Clay said I was in the kitchen writing on paper over and over. Then I blacked out when Clays' phone rung. Next thing I know I'm at the hospital and they're keeping overnight because they think I either had a stroke or an epileptic episode."

Lance raised a rather concerned and confused eyebrow at the jester while Izzy tilted her head and looked him.

"You look okay to me." She commented.

"Thanks, Izzy." Jestro smiled a little at the child's optimism.

Jestro looked at something Izzy had in her hands. It was a small stuffed dragon plushy with big wings and closed sleepy eyes.

"What's that you got?" The jester asked curiously.

"This?" Izzy held up the plush toy. "Lance has been buying me things from the gift shop in the lobby; even though I said one big teddy was enough."

"You can never have too many teddy bears." Lance playful bickered with his sister.

Jestro blinked in confusion as Izzy held the dragon plush up towards him.

"You can have it if you want." The little girl in the cast offered.

Jestro let out a soft oh as he gently took the stuffed animal from the generous child.

"That's lovely of you, Izzy." Jestro complimented with a smile.

"She gets it from me." Lance teased as he ruffled up his sisters' hair.

Izzy told Lance to stop as she giggled. But Jestro noticed something around her neck and under her hospital gown. It looked a bit like string. Similar to what Jestro had around his neck.

"Izzy? Are you wearing jewellery?" The jester asked as he pointed at her.

Izzy looked down at the string around her neck and pulled it out to see.

"Lance gave it to me yesterday after you and the others went home." She said as she showed Jestro the charm on the other end. "It's pretty, huh?"

Jestro just stared at the charm with wide eyes; recognising it as one of the eight made for himself and the Knights. Jestro could see that Lance still had his. But where did Izzy get one?

"Yes. It does look pretty." Jestro replied calmly and kindly before turning to Lance. "Lance; is it okay if I have a word with you alone?"

Lance gave Jestro a confused brow raise before nodding and taking out his wallet.

"Hey Izzy; if it's not too much trouble, could you go get me a strawberry latte and something for Jestro from the cafeteria?" He asked as he handed her some money. "Get anything you want for yourself."

"Okay." She smiled before running out of the room.

When he knew for sure she was gone for a few minutes, Jestro grabbed by his shoulders and turned him around to face him with a stern and serious look.

"Where did she get that charm?" He questioned in a serious but panicky tone.

Lance looked back at the door and back at Jestro.

"He didn't tell you, did he?" Lance spoke with a slightly worried voice.

"What do you mean?"

Lance rubbed his neck as he tried to think of how to break it to the jester.

"Well... Clay told me that you were afraid that Monstrox was after my sister. Then that made me worried and Clay decided to be heroic and gave me his charm to give to Izzy." Lance explained as clearly as he could.

Jestro looked at the white knight with a fearful stare.

"But... But Clay had his charm when I stayed with him last night!" He spoke unknowingly in a panicky tone.

Lance made a worried noise before he realised what Jestro just said. He raised a suspicious brow at the jester.

"Last night?" He questioned bluntly.

Jestro just ignored him and kept talking.

"He had it around his neck when we went to sleep!" Jestro unknowingly said.

"Wait a minute!" Lance interrupted him and made him still. "Are you saying that you and Borington slept together?"

Jestro looked at Lance with wide eyes; thinking he should deny it. But Lance smiled a little as he began to laugh.

"I knew it!" He slapped his knee and sat on the hospital bed next to Jestro. "I knew there was something going on between you two!"

"It didn't go that way!" Jestro stuttered as he tried to explain. "He just wanted to make sure Monstrox couldn't get me!"

"Hey relax. I'm not going to hold it against you or Clay." Lance clarified as he stirred his coffee. "I just had a hunch that Clay was hiding in the closet. And you got him to come out."

Jestro gave Lance an odd look. Lance quickly noticed.

"Hey don't look at me like that. I just think he's a bit uptight most of the time and maybe this is one of the reasons." Lance explained his thoughts. "Though I always thought he had eyes for you."

Jestro felt his cheeks turning red as he looked down at the floor and hugged the dragon plushy.

"He slept for more than two hours last night." He said quietly.

Lance looked at the jester like he was crazy."

"No way." He replied with a disbelieving smile. "He never sleeps. He's like a wide eyed eagle crossed with an owl."

"Lance, can we please get back to the other subject about the charm?" Jestro asked in a rather harsh voice.

Lance blinked a bit before saying okay quietly. Jestro took a deep breath before speak again.

"Did Clay really give you his necklace?" He asked.

"Yeah. He insisted and told me to give it to Izzy." Lance answered back.

"Did she have any bad dreams last night?"

"Not that I know of. She would have told me if she did."

Jestro found it a bit comforting to know that Izzy was fine during the night. But now he knew that Clay was exposed. What if Clay had a nightmare and did not tell Jestro? What if Monstrox had something to do with what happened this morning?...

What if the charms did not really work at all and Monstrox was just toying with him?

"I'm back!"

Jestro jumped when he heard someone at the door. He and Lance looked to see Izzy walking to them with a small tray with a strawberry latte, a vanilla milkshake and a bottle of water.

"Hey you go, big brother." She handed Lance the latte before turning to Jestro. "I didn't know what you liked Mr Jestro. So I just got you some water."

Jestro blushed as he took the bottle of water from the tray.

"Thank you; but you really didn't have to." Jestro said as he fiddled with the lid.

"Trust me. She never takes no for an answer." Lance said before taking a sip of his latte.

After a few more minutes of talking, the doctor came in with one hand behind his back. He coughed into his free hand to get their attention.

"I'm afraid Mr Jestro needs to take some me medication right now." The doctor informed.

Jestro looked at the doctor with wide eyes.

"Medication?" He asked.

"Don't worry; they're just a couple of pills to help you sleep."

Jestro silently panicked as the doctor brought out a small cup with two yellow and pink pills in it. The doctor turned to face Lance and Izzy.

"He's going to have some tests in a few minutes. You'll have to leave and come back later." He spoke in a rather stern voice.

Izzy just made a disappointment sound as Lance picked her up and looked at Jestro.

"Good luck, J-man. Hope you get better." Lance farewelled before leaving the room and going back to Izzys' room.

"Bye." Izzy waved goodbye to the jester.

Jestro waved goodbye as the doctor handed him the pills. Jestro looked at the two pills with a worried face.

"Don't worry. They're just relaxers; they won't hurt you." The doctor tried to reassure.

With a bit of hesitation, Jestro took and sip of water and slipped the pills in; making a shallowing sound and motion. The doctor nodded and wrote on his clipboard.

"Alright. I'll just go and get Dr Hewitts, and then we'll be ready to start the tests and take you in for an MRI." He said before walking out of the room.

When Jestro knew for sure that the doctor was gone, he put his hand into his mouth and took out the pills he was supposed to have taken. He quickly lifted his pillow and put them inside; afraid to sleep now that he was not even sure that the charm he had around his neck was even working against Monstrox.

* * *

 **AN: Yeah. There's going to be a fair amount of Elm st references coming up in the next few chapters. And Lance knows what's up with Clay and Jestro.**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: This chapter is a bit short compared to the others. But please comment.**

* * *

 _ **Quakes**_

* * *

"Clay, that's terrible!"

Clay sat in one of the chairs around the table of the Fortrex with Hamletta sitting next to him. He just told Merlok about what about to Jestro and where he was right now. Clay looked up at the worried expression on the holographic wizards face.

"I really don't know what happened. He just started shaking and foaming at the mouth. He was fine when we got to the hospital, but the doctor thinks he might have had an epileptic attack or some kind of stroke. Now they're keeping him in overnight to run tests." Clay recalled with pure fear and worry in his voice. "This is just awful."

Merlok looked down at the boy as he buried his face in his hands. Clay was trying to be brave in front of Jestro at the hospital. But out of Jestros' sight, he turned into a fearful and worried mess.

"We can only hope for the best, Clay. Lance and Izzy are with him, so he won't be alone tonight." Merlok tried to reassure him.

Clay slowly took his hands away from his face as he looked up at Merlok. Clay felt like there was a massive weight on his shoulders that he needed to get rid of. He needed to tell Merlok about what happened before going to the hospital.

"Merlok. There's more to this then what I just said." Clay said as he patted Hamletta.

Merlok stared with concerned interest as Clay continued to explain.

"I had a dream last night. About Jestro. He was in the bathroom talking to himself. I went to check on him, but he had a knife and he tried to attack me."

Merlok went wide eyed when he heard that Jestro tried to attack Clay in his dream. But Clay continued to explain.

"But he wasn't himself. His voice with all deep and raspy and his eyes were not green like normal. They were red and yellow."

Merlok raised a brow as he processed what Clay explained to him.

"Clay. That sounds more like a nightmare then a dream." The digital wizard replied suspiciously. "You've been wearing the charm, haven't you?"

Clay looked at Merlok for a few seconds before turning away with a guilty frown.

"Jestro thought Monstrox was the one who attacked Izzy and put her in the hospital." He spoke in an almost unemotional tone. "I tried to reassure him. But I was starting to suspect something. So I gave Lance my charm so he could give it to Izzy." Clay explained before turning back to face Merlok.

"Clay; you've put yourself in danger because of this!" Merlok spoke with fearful concern.

"But it's not me he wants, it's Jestro!" Clay replied back with a sharp shout before quieting down. "Now Jestro is alone in the hospital where he's a sitting duck. I can't help but feel like it's my fault."

Clay ran his hands through his hair as Merlok and Hamletta watched with deep concern. Merlok watched he could put his hand on the Knights shoulder to comfort and reassure him. But he could stand there and speak his mind.

"Clay, this is not your fault. I don't know why this is happening to Jestro after we saved him, but we must not lose our heads over it. Jestro is safe as long as he has the charm on him." Merlok explained in a stern voice. "But you will have to be careful. Monstrox may not be after you. But there is the possibility that he will use you to get to Jestro."

Clay looked down at the floor as paranoia filed his head. He started to think that Monstrox might be planning something. But he did not know what.

"You should probably go home. But try not to sleep too much." Merlok warned.

Clay just nodded before calling Hamletta to follow him.

"I only sleep for two hours anyway." He said before saying goodbye to Merlok.

Later that night, Clay was sitting on his bed reading a few articles about possible causes of epilepsy. None of them applied to Jestro. He has not had any injuries to his head that Clay knew of, and he could not have had a stroke because he was perfectly fine. Clay was completely stumped. The only conclusion that he could come to was the idea that maybe Monstrox had something to do with it. Clay began to think of that voice on the phone. The black goo that came out of it was gone when Clay came back to the apartment. But he knew whoever called him was not a normal person. It probably was not even human. Clay came out of his deep thought as he heard an oink next to his bed. He crawled over and looked down to see Hamletta looking up at him with a clueless face.

"Hey, Hamletta." Clay greeted the pig like she could actually talk. "Having trouble sleeping?"

The pig just stared at Clay with a slight head tilt. Clay just sighed and shook his head before letting Hamletta climb onto the bed and sit beside him and his sword and shield.

"I only sleep for two hours. But Jestro's been helping me with it." He spoke like he was trying to have a conversation with the animal beside him. "I hope he's okay in that hospital tonight. The thought of him being alone in there worries me."

Clay was about to take a sip of water from a glass cup next to his bed. But as he reached for it, he noticed something. As he reached for the cup, the water in it started to ripple. Before Clay could question it, the room began to shake and objects around the room fell to the floor. The glass spilt and rolled off the nightstand; shattering against the floor near the closet. Clay went wide eyed as he heard rumbling and the sound of Hamletta squealing in fear and running off under the bed. He flinched as the lights short circuited and went off; leaving him in dim low light. Clay quickly got off his bed and stood in the doorway; holding on as the shaking began to die down. Clay slowly took his hands away from the doorway as Hamletta poked her head out from under the bed.

"What was that?" He thought as he looked at the mess around the room.

Clay squinted as his eyes adjusted to the low lighting as he heard Hamletta making a few oinking sounds. The blue knight slowly approached the broken glass near the closet; being careful not to step on it and cut his foot by mistake. The knight looked down at the pieces of glass; bending down to pick them up. As Clay picked up the pieces, the door to the closet creeped open; showing all his clothes hanging on a rack. Clay stopped and looked up as he realised it was open. But he thought he locked it. He knew he locked it.

Before Clay could analyse, a sharp metal claw burst out of the clothes. Clay quickly avoided it and took a step back towards his bed as a familiar and unwanted figure poked through the closet. Clay gasped in horror as Monstrox gave the knight a grim and malicious grin.

"Miss me?"

Clay quickly reacted as Monstrox charged at him with his claws by rolling onto the bed and grabbing his equipment to fight back. Monstrox took a swing at Clay, but the knight held up his shield and deflected the attack. Hamletta squealed in fear and ran out of the room.

"This isn't possible! I'm not asleep! You should not be able to attack me!" Clay spoke in denial.

Monstrox smirked at him as he brushed the sheets of Clays bed with his claws.

"You sure about that Moorington? You've been worried and stressed since joke boy had his episode." He mocked the knight as he came closer.

Clay held up his sword as he prepared for any incoming attacks. Monstrox smirked as he swung his claws at Clay; being blocked and pushed back by his sword.

"Maybe you're going mad." The nightmare necromancer teased.

Clay swung his sword and hit Monstrox in his left side with a grunt; making the necromancer yell out in angry pain. But the wound quickly healed up as black goo oozed over it and sealed it. Monstrox responded to the attack by making his floating robe stretch out and pin Clay to the wall. Clay grunted and struggled against the chain-like tentacles made from the robe as Monstrox smirked and came close to the knight.

"I don't know what you're doing, Monstrox; but I will not let you kill Jestro!" Clay threatened with a vengeful stare.

Clay felt his anger boiling in him as Monstrox just laughed at him. But it quickly turned into discomfort as the necromancer glided his claw against his right arm.

"I'm not going to kill him, Nexo not." Monstrox spoke with a smirk. "I need him and his body to be alive when I take it over."

Clay froze with wide eyes as Monstrox began to laugh with a deep evil cackle. But the knight quickly gave the necromancer an angered stare; breaking free from his grip and taking a swing at him with his sword. But Monstrox took a step back and slashed at Clay with his claw; hitting him and leaving severe cuts in his right arm. Clay dropped his sword as he yelled out in pain and held his arm. Clay almost lost his balance as he felt another tremor shaking the room. Monstrox just grinned before devolving into black goo; oozing and disappearing under the bed as the tremor died down.

Clay breathed heavily as he stood up. Unsure if what just happened was real. But the fresh cuts on his arm told him otherwise. Clay quickly picked up his sword and shield and hurried out of his apartment with Hamletta following him closely behind. Clay had to get to the hospital with only one thought on his mind. Jestro was in danger.


	16. Chapter 16

**_Nightmare Hospital part 1_**

* * *

Clay ran through the hospital doors with Hamletta under his left arm; ignoring the pain in his right arm. Several patients and staff members watched and looked at him like he was some weird spectacle as he ran towards the elevators. Clay quickly pressed the button to the floor Jestro was on, but a nurse quickly came over and stopped him.

"Sir, animals are not allowed here and visiting hours are almost over." He quickly reminded Clay of the rules.

"I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry." Clay ignored him as he waited for the elevator.

The nurse was about to argue with Clay. But he went wide eyed and gasped when he saw the cut on his arm with blood dripping out.

"Oh dear! Doctor Hewitts! We have an open wound over here!" The nurse called out.

The nurse tried to lead Clay to the front desk, but Clay pulled back in protest.

"I'm fine, really. But I need to see one of the patients on level two." Clay protested.

"Sir, you're bleeding severally; you need first aid." The nurse argued.

Clay was avoiding the nurse at all cost while Hamletta oinked in confusion.

"What's going on here!?"

They heard a voice call out from behind them. A male doctor with a middle aged appearance and greying hair came over to see what was causing all the commotion.

"Dr Hewitts; this man just walked in here with severe cuts on his arm! He needs medical attention now!" The nurse explained.

"Not until I see Jestro!" Clay resisted.

Dr Hewitts blinked as he rubbed his chin in worry, but he told the nurse to stand down. Clay watched anxiously as the doctor put his hands on his hips with an exhausted expression.

"You're Clay Moorington?" He asked.

"Yes." Clay answered quickly. "Is Jestro alright?"

Dr Hewitts had a hesitant look on his face as he tried to think of how to answer Clays' question.

"I'm afraid you won't find him in his room from this morning." He answered vaguely.

"What do you mean?" Clay asked anxiously.

"We had to move him into intensive care."

Clay felt his insides go cold and his heart skip a few beats when he heard the words intensive care. That could only mean something terrible happened to Jestro.

"Take me to him." Clay demanded.

The nurse gave Clay and Dr Hewitts unbelieved looks.

"Sir, you really need-"

"Please!"

Dr Hewitts could see desperation in Clays' eyes. The doctor sighed as he told the nurse to stand down and let Clay go in with Hamletta. Dr Hewitts stood in the elevator as Clay anxiously watched the numbers change above the door. He looked down at the pig he had beside him.

"I take it you and your pet were in a hurry to get here." He tried to make conversation with the worried knight.

"I'm minding her for a friend. And she's not a farm pig; she's clean." Clay clarified as the elevator slowed down.

The doors opened and Dr Hewitts told Clay and Hamletta to follow him down the hall. Clay was afraid of what kind of state Jestro was in. What if Monstrox somehow got to him and hurt him? Or took over his body like he said he was doing? Clay almost flinched when Dr Hewitts stopped in front of a door.

"He's in here." He said as he opened the door.

Clay hesitated to look through the door. But he had to be brave. He stepped forward, looked through the door and gasped in shock and horror.

On the hospital bed, Jestro just laid there motionless; covered up by a blanket up to his waist and hooked up to a heart monitor. Clay stepped in to get a closer look at his unconscious state; seeing his eyes closed with an oxygen tube up his nose. Clay could not believe what he was seeing; praying it was just a nightmare caused by Monstrox. He almost looked completely lifeless. Clay would think he was dead if the heart monitor was not beeping and reading his heart rate. Hamletta looked up with a confused face and made a quiet oink.

"What happened to him?" Clay questioned on the verge of tears.

"Don't be too alarmed by all this. He's just resting." Dr Hewitts tried to explain. "We're not sure what happened. He was fine before we performed an MRI. Everything appeared normal on the scans. But soon after, he started having a panic attack and then he had a seizure. We were able to stabilise him, but all the commotion wore him out."

Clay held his stomach with his right hand; trying not to feel sick from all the stress and worry building up in him. Clay checked Jestro's neck; seeing the charm was still there.

"Did you make him take off his necklace before or during the MRI?" Clay questioned; thinking Monstrox had something to do with this.

"Only while we were scanning him. He put it back on straight after. That's when he had the seizure." Dr Hewitts explained.

Clay tried to think of how it happened. Did Jestro have the seizure just before putting the charm back on or after? Dr Hewitts came up to Clay and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let me treat your arm and I'll try to explain." He offered with support.

Clay looked down at his arm; realising that he was bleeding quite heavily. The knight took a glance at Jestro before turning to the doctor and nodding a yes. The doctor led Clay out of the room with Hamletta following them. Clay took one more glance at Jestro before he left the room; mentally whispering that he would be back.

* * *

Clay kept his composure as Dr Hewitts cleaned up and treated his cuts with a clean towel. The doctor gave the knight a glance before looking back down at the wound.

"So how did you get this nasty cut?" He asked curiously; trying to make conversation with Clay.

Clay wanted to tell the doctor what really happened. But he knew there would be problems if he did.

"I had a blackout at my apartment." He lied. "It was dark and I accidentally fell on some broken glass."

The doctor raised a brow as he looked at Clay and back at the wound.

"Looks pretty symmetrical. I'm surprised your hand hasn't come off." He replied. "Did you come here by yourself with Hamletta?"

"Yes. I'm minding her for a friend. He has a sister here and he's staying with her until she's better." Clay explained.

"I think I know who you're talking about. I heard he had a bit of a quarrel with his parents."

Clay just nodded before he further explained what happened to his arm.

"I was just getting a drink of water when my apartment started shaking. Everything that wasn't nailed down just fell over and broke. It happened again and I fell on some broken glass." The knight got his story straight. "But then I had this terrible feeling that Jestro was in trouble. I needed to see if he was okay."

Dr Hewitts gave Clay a curious look as he wrapped his wound up in a tight and secure bandage.

"I take it he's a close friend of yours." He assumed.

"Maybe more than that." Clay unknowingly said.

The knight quickly realised what he just said and gasped. The doctor smiled a bit as Clay gave him a panicky look.

"It's not what you think!" Clay tried to clarify. "He and I just-"

"It's alright. I'm not going to judge at all." Dr Hewitts reassured the blue knight. "My Sister has a wife and they have quite possibly the best relationship I've seen in my life."

Clay felt his cheeks turning red as he looked down at the floor. Hamletta tilted her head as she looked at him.

"I just can't stand the thought of anything happening to him." Clay spoke quietly. "I already lost him once. The thought of it happening again frightens me."

Dr Hewitts scratched his head in thought as he put a hand on Clays shoulder. Clay looked up as the doctor asked him a question.

"Has anything happened to Jestro recently? Anything upsetting or stressful?" He asked.

Clay was not sure of it was a good idea to talk about Monstrox. But he knew he could water it down.

"Well... he's been having some bad Nightmares recently." Clay began to explain. "Something about being chased and attacked by a man with a dark robe and a claw."

Dr Hewitts made a quiet oh as he rubbed his chin in thought.

"He shouted something when he was having his seizure. Something like, stay back, don't hurt me, and stay away." He recalled what happened. "Maybe when we find what's causing this, I can recommend a therapist for him."

Clay felt like a knot was tying up in his stomach. He now knew for sure that Jestro was in danger. He stood up with his left hand holding his now bandaged right arm.

"I know this goes against the hospital rules, but I want to stay with Jestro tonight." He requested politely.

Dr Hewitts put his hands on his hips as he thought about it.

"While I can bend the rules for you, I'm not so sure about your friend here." He commented.

Clay was about to reply when he heard a familiar voice outside Dr Hewitts office.

"C'mon, why can't we see him!?"

Clay recognised the sound of Aaron's voice near the front desk. Clay quickly looked to see his friends there; the Knights and Robin and Ava. It seemed as though they were about to have an argument with the person at the desk.

"I'm sorry, but we can't have visitors in intensive care at this hour!" The nurse answered back harshly.

"He's in intensive care?!" Robin questioned in worry.

"What's he doing in there?!" Axl asked for answers.

Clay stepped forward before anyone could talk again.

"Because he had a seizure."

Everyone turned to see Clay and Dr Hewitts standing there. Everyone quickly came up to the knight and group hugged him; bombarding him with questions about Jestro.

"Is he alright?!"

"When did he have a seizure!?"

"He didn't die did he!?"

"Guys, he's fine! The doctors have him in a stable condition, but I'm going to spend the night with him just to be sure." Clay quickly answered the questions.

Macy looked down at Clays arm and noticed the bandaging.

"Clay, what happened to your arm?" She asked with worried concern.

Clay looked down at look at it before he answered.

"I fell on some broken glass." He answered before asking her a question. "What're you guys doing here?"

Everyone looked at each other with uncertainty before turning back to Clay. Aaron grabbed Clay by his left arm and pulled him into the group.

"I had a bad dream about Jestro, dude." Aaron whispered with a quiet worried tone.

"Me too." Axl added.

Clay blinked at them with wide eyes.

"We all had the same dream of him being attacked by Monstrox." Macy explained.

"It was around the time when the town started shaking." Robin added.

"Wait, you all felt that!?" Clay questioned; knowing he did not imagine that earthquake when Monstrox attacked him.

"Yes. But there's no way it could've been possible; earthquakes are very rare in this part of the kingdom." Ava tried to make sense of it.

As the group tried to figure out what happened, they were approached by another staff member.

"What is going on here?"

Everyone looked up to see the doctor who examined Jestro earlier that day. The doctor had his arms crossed with a rather judgmental look on his face. Dr Hewitts quickly came over.

"Dr Meaner; these are Mr Jestro's friends. They just want to make sure he's okay." He explained to the strict doctor.

"Well they are way past visiting hours, so they'll have to go home. Including the pig." Dr Meaner spoke rather harshly.

Hamletta made a rather angry oink while the humans gave the doctor rather grim looks.

"Now Lewis, I told Mr Moorington he could stay for the night to look after his friend like Mr Richmond is looking after his sister." Dr Hewitts tried to reason with his co-worker. "I'm sure we can make just more exception."

Dr Meaner just let out a frustrated sigh.

"Fine. But only one of you can stay and the pig can't stay here. It goes against health and safety regulations." He said before walking away.

Everyone just gave each other uncertain looks about that Dr Meaner. But Clay knew he was not going anywhere. The blue knight bent down and picked up Hamletta before turning to Macy.

"I hope I'm not asking too much of you, Macy. But I can't convince them to let me bring Hamletta into the hospital." He spoke as he held the animal to the princess knight. "Is it okay if you look after her while I'm here?"

"Hopefully my parents won't mind; but I'm sure I can." Macy said as she took Hamletta and held her.

"Are you gonna be okay be yourself here, Clay?" Axl asked in concern.

"Don't worry, Axl. I won't be by myself. I just need to make sure Jestro is safe from Monstrox." Clay explained calmly.

"And Lance is here too, so you won't be totally alone." Aaron added in reassurance with a smile.

Clay nodded in agreement. But he had a look in his eyes that screamed worry and fear.

* * *

Clay sat in the chair across from the hospital bed that Jestro laid unconscious in. Clay listened to the beeping of the heart monitor as he watched over Jestro. Even though Jestro was in an almost lifeless state, he seemed content and at peace as his chest rose up and down with each breath he took. Clay continued to keep a watchful eye over the jester. But his eyelids were becoming heavy. He laid back in the chair; trying to keep himself awake. But he only closed his eyes for a second.

 **A long continuous flat line tone made Clay sit straight up with his eyes wide and blood shot. Clay looked towards the bed and the occupant in it. He felt his panic rise as he heard the sound of a dead heart. But something was happening. Jestro rose up and sat up on the bed. Clay watched and listened in fear as Jestro opened his eyes and stared at him with a look of resentment despite the flat line sound. Clay watched as Jestro removed the heart rate reader from his hand and threw it across the room as he continued to stare at Clay.**

 **"Jestro?" He questioned with a fearful shake in his voice.**

 **Jestro just ignored Clay as he ripped his oxygen tube from his face and tore the heart monitor readers from his chest; silencing the flat line sound.**

 **"Jestro, you shouldn't do that." Clay spoke in fear; unnerved by the jesters behaviour.**

 **"Too late."**

 **Clay went wide eyed as he heard a demonic voice pour out from Jestro's mouth; nothing like his regular speaking voice. Clay knew for sure something was very wrong as he continued to speak and his voice deepened with a sharp bloody toothed smile creeping in.**

 **"He's all mine now, Moorington. And you're never getting him back."**

 **Clay watched as Jestro stopped smiling and screamed as blood poured out of his mouth; jumping out of the bed and grabbing Clay by his shirt collar and trying to scratch him. Clay defended himself by pushing Jestro back, but he did not want to fight or hurt him. Four Nurses came in through the doorway as they heard the struggle.**

 **"Please help!" Clay called out for help as Jestro growled and snarled at him.**

 **Two of The nurses quickly reacted by grabbing Jestro and forcing him back on the bed as he struggled against them. Clay stood up as Dr Meaner came through with an almost emotionless face. The doctor looked at Clay with an irritated stare.**

 **"Keep him right there!" He ordered as he pointed at Clay.**

 **The other two nurses grabbed Clay and pinned him down to the chair; confused and frightened as they kept him away from Jestro. Dr Meaner walked to the bed as the nurses kept Jestro pinned down as he struggled and screamed out in pain.**

 **"We can't hold him much longer, Doctor!" One of the nurses spoke in an urgent tone.**

 **"He's in shock! Get the anaesthesia!" Dr Meaner ordered quickly.**

 **Clay struggled against the two nurses as they tried to restrain him to the chair.**

 **"We don't have any of that, Doctor!" One of the nurses restraining Jestro answered back.**

 **Clay got one arm free from the nurses; but he continued to struggle against them as Dr Meaner looked down at Jestro.**

 **"No anaesthesia you say?" He questioned as Jestro began to cry out in what sounded like pain. "We'll just have to go head on."**

 **Clay watched with worry as the nurses unbuttoned Jestro's pyjama shirt and exposed his torso.**

 **"What're you doing!?" Clay questioned as he stood with one arm tied to the chair.**

 **"Clown boy here is full of something I don't like." Dr Meaner spoke as he reached into his pocket. "Let's get him open."**

 **Clay gasped as Dr Meaner took a scalpel out of his pocket. But he almost had a heart attack as the face of the doctor changed into a face that looked like a demonic jack-o-lantern. The monster faced doctor looked at Clay with a sinister grin as he held the sharp tool above his head and spoke in a deep voice.**

 **"Remove his heart!"**

 **Clay pulled on the tight strap keeping him stuck to the chair as the doctor readied to use the scalpel on Jestro.**

 **"NO, STOP!"**

 **Clay pulled on the strap so hard that he snapped it in two. He ran towards the hospital bed and jumped on top to protect Jestro from the insane medical staff.**

But Clay landed on something soft and bouncy instead of Jestro. Clay looked up to see that the room was empty; no one else was there but him. Including Jestro. Clay was on top of the hospital bed his love was unconscious and in critical health in. But Clay began to panic again as he mentally asked and repeated. Where was Jestro?

* * *

 **AN: I'll try to get the next part up asap. Until then, R and R are welcome. And don't tell me to update! I'll do it when it's ready!**


	17. Chapter 17

**_Nightmare Hospital part 2_**

* * *

Clay ran out of the room and searched frantically for Jestro. The knight panicked as he ran down the hall passed several other rooms.

"Jestro!?" He shouted out worryingly. "Jestro!?"

Before Clay could call out again, a nurse came up to him with an irritated look on her face.

"Sir, patients are trying to sleep! Please be quiet or else!" She shouted into his face.

Clay just went silent as he stared wide eyed at the nurse. She just gave him a sharp glare as she walked away. Clay was about to panic and search again when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Clay?"

Clay turned around to see Lance standing there with a dragon plush in his hand and a confused look on his face.

"Whatcha doing here?" He asked with a slightly worried tone. "And what happened to your arm?"

Clay scared Lance as he grabbed the white knight by his shoulders.

"Lance I need your help!" He spoke in a panicky matter.

Lance looked at Clay with wide eyes before he blinked in confusion.

"...Okay... What can I do?" The white knight asked.

"I need to find Jestro! He was in that room down the hall but now he's-"

Clay was interrupted when the nurse told him to shush. Clay quieted down before he finished.

"...But now he's gone."

"Yeah, I was actually looking for him too." Lance answered back. "I went to his room to check on him and say hi, but he wasn't there. He forgot the dragon toy Izzy gave him."

Lance held up the stuffed toy in his hand and showed it to Clay.

"I was just looking for him. I asked someone where he was, and they told me he was moved to this part of the hospital. Did they move him again?"

"I don't know. But he's in danger. We have to found him and get him out of here." Clay said before running down the hall.

Lance told Clay to wait up as they ran outside to the desk outside of the ICU. Clay stopped in front and looked at the woman behind the desk.

"Ma'am, I'm looking for a patient who was in the ICU, but they moved him and I can't find him!" Clay spoke as he tried not to panic in front of the receptionist.

The receptionist looked up and went through the files on her computer.

"Well we did have someone who was suffering from a seizure earlier, but he's been taken into hall B for some tests." She said as she looked through the recent files.

Clay recalled seeing a hall B on his way to Jestros' room in the ICU. He quickly ran to find it and find Jestro. Lance ran after Clay as the receptionist shouted out that they were not allowed in there; Clay could not hear her. Clay ran past several doctors as he spotted Dr Meaner outside one of the rooms with a clipboard. The doctor looked up and looked at Clay with wide eyes.

"Mr Moorington!"

Clay ignored the doctor and ran into the room. Clay stopped in the doorway when he saw a familiar face sitting up on the medical cot inside.

Jestro was sitting in the medical cot in his red flannel pyjamas and a pair of black slippers. He was looking down at the floor with his arms folded. Clay smiled with relief as he took a few heavy breaths. Jestro looked up as he noticed Clay standing there.

"Clay?" He spoke in a slightly confused tone.

Clay quickly came up to the jester and wrapped his arms around him; holding him tightly but gently. Lance caught up with Clay as he saw what was going on. The white knight blinked as he saw Clay hugging Jestro.

"I was worried sick about you." Clay spoke as he broke the hug up and looked at Jestro in the eye. "Are you okay?"

Jestro looked back Clay with a fearful look on his face.

"I... I have a really bad feeling." He spoke in a shaky tone.

"Don't worry, Jestro. I'm taking you home and getting you out of here. We're going to figure this out together and we're going to get rid of Monstrox." Clay spoke in reassurance.

Jestro smiled a little as Clay talked.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that."

Clay and Jestro looked towards the doorway as they heard Dr Meaner speak.

"From what I have seen today, Mr Jestro is quite ill and needs immediate treatment. But there's something I need to discuss with you. Alone."

Clay stopped himself from giving the doctor a hateful stare. Even though Dr Meaner did not know it, he was putting Jestros' life in danger. Clay turned back to Jestro and lightly kissed him on the forehead as he whispered something to him.

"I'll be back. Don't worry."

Jestro felt his cheeks going red as he watched Clay get up and walk out. Clay walked up to Lance and whispered something to him.

"Make sure he doesn't fall asleep." He instructed.

Lance nodded and watched as Dr Meaner took Clay to another room.

Clay had a disgruntled look on his face as Dr Meaner had his back turned to him. When they reached another room, the doctor turned to face Clay with a stern but almost emotionless face.

"Sit down, Mr Moorington."

Clay grabbed a chair next to the wall and sat. But Dr Meaner just stood and crossed his arms.

"It seems that your friends' case is a bit more... difficult than we anticipated." He spoke rather bluntly. "We know there is something wrong, but nothing is showing up on the scans we've taken of him and his brain. So I need to ask one question, Mr Moorington."

Clay just stared at the doctor as he leaned against the wall.

"Tell me. Does Jestro have a history of mental illness?"

Clay blinked in confusion as Dr Meaner asked him that question. Clay was sure Jestro did not have any mental illnesses, but Jestro was an orphan and did not have any family history. He knew what was causing the jester to be here. What if the doctors were thinking that Jestro might be ill when Clay knew what was really happening?

"No, not that I'm aware of." Clay answered in all honesty.

Dr Meaner nodded before speaking again.

"He's been talking about a man in a dark robe with a claw since we took him into the room across from here." He recalled. "When he had his seizure, he raved and screamed about that as well and he refuses to sleep. He was suffering from hallucinations; a symptom of schizophrenia."

Clay began to worry as Dr Meaner continued.

"If it's as bad as we think, we may have to consider that he needs to go to a different kind of hospital."

Clay stared with wide eyes as he tried to process what the doctor was saying. They were going to send Jestro to a mental institution.

* * *

Lance walked over to the bed and sat down next to Jestro.

"Hey, J-man." He greeted as he held up the dragon toy. "You forgot your present."

Jestro let out a quiet oh as he gently took the toy from Lance and held it close.

"I didn't realise." Jestro said as he looked up at the white knight. "I've been so confused by all this."

Lance sighed as he gave Jestro a hearty but gently pat on the back.

"Me too, buddy. Me too." He sympathised with the jester.

Before anything else could be said, a pair of nurses came in carrying a tray with a vail of medicine and a syringe. Jestro looked at it with confusion while Lance raised a brow in suspicion.

"What's that?" The white knight asked in suspension.

"Just need to get Mr Jestro ready for his tests." One of the nurses said as she filled up the syringe.

The other nurse took up Jestros' sleeve and rubbed something on him. The nurse with the syringe looked at the pair as she held it up.

"I don't like needles." Jestro spoke nervously as he hugged his stuffed dragon.

"Oh don't worry, sweetie." The nurse said as a smile came on her face. "It's just something to help you sleep."

Jestro backed away with wide eyes while Lance stood up and blocked the nurse from Jestro.

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that!" He quickly said as he held his arms out.

"I have orders, sir." The nurse insisted with a harsh tone as she tried to go past him.

"I have orders too, and I can't let Jestro fall asleep."

The nurse raised a brow as she shook her head.

"Do it."

The other nurse took out a medication filled syringe and injected it into Jestros' arm; making him squeak in pain from the needle. Lance gasped before turning to the nurse with an angered look.

"That was a dirty trick!" He said in a low volume shout.

"I'm just doing my job." The nurse replied as she put the tray and needle down. "Now you need to leave."

Lance gave the nurses angered looks before he took out his lance in its unarmed form.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." He spoke as he stood his ground. "As a knight, I have the authority to stay here and stop you from doing some torturous tests on Jestro. So I suggest that you leave and let me carry out my orders before I have to use force!"

The nurses just looked at Lance with wide fearful eyes before running out of the room. Lance quickly moved his attention to Jestro.

"J-man? You okay?" Lance asked as he checked on him.

Jestro rubbed his arm as he blinked a few times. The jester looked up at Lance as his eyelids were becoming heavy.

"I-I don't feel well." He spoke quietly.

"I can't do that to him!" Clay began to argue with the doctor. "He's not insane!"

"I'm not saying he is, Mr Moorington. I'm just saying that he needs a different kind of treatment." Dr Meaner clarified his words.

"He needs to be around the people who care about him! I'm not sending him to an asylum!"

Dr Meaner raised a brow at the knight as he crossed his arms.

"You keep saying that you care about Jestro. Yet you're refusing him treatment." He spoke harshly.

Clay narrowed his brow at the harsh doctor as he tried to think of how to reply. But his eyes widened when he felt a numb feeling in his bandaged arm. He slowly looked down and stared.

"Are you listening to me Mr Moorington?" Dr Meaner questioned.

Clay ignored the doctor as he saw something only he was seeing. He stared at the bandage as a massive blood stain slowly creeped and grew in size. But Clay did not feel any pain. Something was very wrong.

* * *

"C'mon Jestro; don't fall asleep on me!" Lance said as he tried to keep Jestro awake.

Jestro kept blinking tiredly as he tried to stay awake. But the medicine from the needle was going through him quickly.

"I... feel sleepy." He spoke in an almost whisper.

"But you gotta stay awake. Clay said so." Lance encouraged as he held the tired jester.

Lance panicked as Jestro only closed his eyes for a few seconds. The jester awoke with a jolt and took a few breaths. Lance smiled when he thought Jestro was fully awake.

"I guess that stuff was fake." He spoke with a grin.

Jestro looked up to face Lance. But his eyes widened when he looked beyond the white knight. A black mass was rising up behind Lance; forming into an all too familiar body and face. Jestro froze as the beastly eyes and jack o lantern grin of Monstrox stared down at him with a deep cackle. Lance blinked in confusion at Jestros' frightened face.

"What's wrong?" He asked in concern.

Jestro started shaking as he tried to point at the nightmare necromancer.

"Behind you!" He blurted out in a shaky voice.

Lance turned around with a raised brow. He turned back as he shook his head.

"There's nothing there."

Jestro ignored Lances' words and stared at Monstrox. The grin on the necromancers face grew bigger as he slowly lifted his claws and looked down at Lance; preparing to attack the unsuspecting knight. Jestro quickly realised what was happening and reacted.

"Lance look out!"

Jestro quickly grabbed Lance and pushed him off the medical out of Monstroxs' attack. Lance made a frightened sound as the jester pushed him. But he went wide eyed when he saw that he had a pained and terrified look in his eyes.

* * *

"I want Jestro out of here; right now!"

Dr Meaner clutched his fist as he had enough of Clay and his demands.

"Very well. As soon you fill out the appointed papers." He spoke with little to no reassurance in his voice.

Clay gave the doctor a look that could kill before he came up to him with ill intention and feeling.

"You don't understand! If Jestro falls asleep, he is going to-"

Clay froze as he heard the sound of screaming and a struggle. Dr Meaner quickly ran out of the room to investigate and Clay ran out; realising that the scream came from Jestro.

Lance quickly stood up with wide eyes as Jestro was slammed into a wall and lifted up to the ceiling. Jestro on the other hand made pained and frightened sounds as his invisible attacker held him against the ceiling like there was no law of gravity. Jestro watched with wide eyes as Monstrox gave him a grin with ill intentions.

"Ever play skin the cat, joke boy?"

Lance watched in horror as he saw Jestro being dragged across the ceiling; screaming and digging his nails into the plywood and trying to stop whatever was pulling on him. The white knight flinched as Jestro screamed for his help.

"Please! Help me!" He screamed desperately.

"Won't do you any good, Jestro! Only you can see me!" Monstrox taunted as he held Jestro up on the ceiling.

Lance took out his weapon as he looked at Jestro struggling against the invisible force. He watched for signs of where the invisible enemy was. He looked closely for anything that gave away its position. Lance noticed that Jestros' PJ shirt was wrinkling at the collar.

Monstrox laughed and grinned manically as he aimed his claw above Jestros' chest; sending him into a panic.

"You're all mine now, Jestro!" He spoke with a loud laugh as he raised his claws.

Jestro closed his tear filled eyes as he begged for his life; terrified that this was how it was going to end. But a painful yell made him open his eyes and stare in shock.

Monstrox took a step back as he yelled in pain; having Lances weapon sticking into his back and dripping out black goo. Lance stared as Monstrox became visible to him as the black gunk dripped down his weapon. Jestro screamed as he fell from the ceiling and landed back on the medical cot. But Monstrox breathed heavily as he gave Lance a hateful and deadly stare. Lance had no time to react as Monstrox punched him in the chest and set him slamming into a wall; knocking him out cold. Jestro panicked as he stared at Monstrox and the black goo dripping out. Monstrox was about to react when he heard Mooringtons' voice coming from the hallway.

"Lance! Jestro!"

"What's going on in here?!"

Monstrox growled as he pulled the lance out of his back and bared his claws; getting ready to kill whoever came through the door. Jestro knew what was about to happen and panicked as someone came into view.

"Clay, look out!"

But it was too late. Monstrox roared and slashed his claws down; striking the person in the doorway. Jestro gasped in horror while Monstrox went silent with a confused face.

Clay stared in shock as Dr Meaner collapsed backwards with four bloody slashes going down his chest and stomach. Clay would have thought the doctor was dead if it was not for his heavy breathing. The blue knight continued to stare in fear. But the sound of Jestro screaming in terror brought him back to reality. The jester raced out of the room with tears of fear flowing out with the dragon toy in his hand. Clay was about to stop him when he saw Monstrox flying out of the room and chasing after the jester.

"Oh dear lord!"

Clay heard a woman's voice approach as he turned around; seeing a bunch of doctors coming over to see what happened. One of them bent down and checked on Dr Meaner.

"He's alive, but he's bleeding quickly! Get a medical cot and move him to emergency!" She quickly diagnosed and ordered.

One of the nurses came up to Clay.

"Did you see what happened here, sir?" He asked.

Clay quickly shook his head.

"I just heard my friend scream and I ran here." He explained.

But Clay quickly realised that Lance was nowhere to be heard. He quickly ran into the room to find the white knight unconscious against the wall and floor.

"Lance!" He quickly ran over and checked on him.

Clay checked his pulse. It was there and beating regularly. He quickly but gently lifted him up into a sitting position and gently shook him as he called out his name. Lance came too with a painful groan as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Lance, are you alright?" Clay quickly asked.

"My neck and my back hurts; what do you think?" He replied rather sarcastically.

"What happened here?"

Lance looked up at Clay with an uncertain look on his face.

"Clay... I'm sorry." He apologised before he explained. "I tried to stop them, but the nurses. They put drugs in him when I told them not to and Monstrox attacked us. I was knocked out before I could really do anything."

A nurse came in as she overheard the conversation.

"The patient won't get far. We put him under heavy sedation." She spoke with emotionless confidence.

"It didn't work!" Lance argued with the nurse as he stood up. "He was completely awake when this happened! He could probably walk right out of here for all I know!"

Clay went wide eyed as Lance said the words 'walk right out of here.' The blue knight stood up as he realised that Jestro just ran past him screaming out of the room. And Monstrox was chasing after him.

"Oh no." He muttered as he quickly ran out; knowing he had to find him before Monstrox did.

* * *

 **AN: Sorry if this chapter took a while. I've had a tough week with a relative passing. I'm going to finish this, but the next few chapters might be slow on delivery. but please stay tuned**


	18. Chapter 18

**_From Bad to Worse_**

* * *

Clay ran out of the hospital with Lance chasing after him. Lance had his phone out as he ran after Clay; trying to type and tell Izzy what was happening. Clay made it to his vehicle, climbed in and started it.

"Lance, get in here; now!" He ordered the white knight.

"Okay; don't rush me, Rushman!" Lance grunted as he climbed into the vehicle.

"We have to find Jestro before Monstrox does! There's no time to waste!"

As soon as Lance was seated in the vehicle, Clay hit the accelerator; making a dash away from the hospital. Jestro could not have gotten far. But he was probably running for his life with Monstrox chasing after him. Clay knew that backup was required.

"Lance! Call Merlok and the Knights and tell them we need help!" Clay quickly ordered as he looked for any sign of Jestro or Monstrox.

Lance quickly took out his phone and called Merlok first; thinking the digital wizard would send out the message quickly if he was told first. Lance tapped his finger against the side car as waited for Merlok to answer.

"...Hello?" Lance heard a familiar voice with a yawn.

"Hey, Merlok; it's me, Lance." Lance tried to sound calm as he spoke to the digital wizard over the sound of the wind rushing against him. "So, Clay wanted me to tell you to tell the others that we have a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

Lance cleared his throat as he struggled to answer.

"Jestro ran away from the hospital." He answered awkwardly.

Clay could hear Merlok asking worried and scared questions with Lance telling him what happened. But Clay slowed his vehicle down as he felt a tight Vice like pain in his head. Lance looked towards Clay and raised a brow in concern.

"You alright, Clay?" He asked as the vehicle stopped.

Clay made a discomforted grunt as he felt the sudden migraine; closing his eyes from the pain. But as Clay kept his eyes closed, he saw something appear in his mind. He went silent as he saw the point of view of someone who was running through a forest of trees. The person running kept looking back towards a fence with a schoolyard behind it. But a monstrous shadow was following them; making them scream and shout go away and leave me alone. Clay opened his eyes as the vision faded and his migraine disappeared with it. The blue knight quickly turned to Lance.

"Tell Merlok to gather the others and meet us at the academy!" He ordered.

Lance was not sure what just happened to Clay, but he followed orders and told Merlok to gather the others and hurry to the Knights academy. Clay sped through the road until they made it to the academy; coming to a complete stop near the gates. Clay quickly jumped out of the vehicle as he looked up at the academy; noticing that several lights were on in some of the windows. Lights out would usually be around this time. The blue knight saw Principal Brickland running towards the gates in a hurry.

"Sir Brickland! Thank goodness you're here!" Clay spoke in hurrying relief as he went over to the gates.

"I was just about to call you, Moorington." Principal Brickland replied as he opened the gates. "Students are running to my office and saying that they keep hearing screams coming from the forest behind the field. Some of them even said it sounded like someone in distress."

"That's probably Jestro." Lance casually assumed as he climbed out of Clays vehicle.

Principal Brickland raised an eyebrow and blinked at the pair.

"The juggler? Did he go rouge again?" He asked; unknowingly sounding offensive.

"No, he's in danger because someone who is a massive threat is after him!" Clay said before running towards the forest.

Lance just gave Principal Brickland a nervous look as the watched Clay speed towards the woods.

"He had to deal with a terrible doctor earlier." The white knight explained; getting a rather questionable look from Brickland before running after Clay.

Clay slowed down as he made it to the outer edge of the forest; silently panicking as he heard nothing but crickets and an owl. Clay knew he had to be careful. If Jestro was here, then so was Monstrox. Clay got his sword and shield ready as he stepped in the woods.

"Jestro?" Clay whisper shouted. "Jestro; where are you?"

A few seconds after Clay finished whispering, a shaky whimpering sound came from further into the woods. The blue knight held up his sword as he slowly approached a tree where the sounds were coming from; keeping his guard up in case Monstrox was waiting to attack. Clay heard the sound get louder as he approached; becoming clearer to his ears.

"I don't wanna go..."

Clay heard a tearful whisper and instantly recognised the voice. He quickly looked around the other side of the tree and gasped.

Jestro was sitting there shaking with his head buried in his hands and knees with the dragon pluse; breathing heavily like he was in the middle of crying.

"Jestro?" Clay tried to reach out to the jester.

Jestro stopped shaking and looked up. Clay was expecting Jestro to be happy and relieved to see him. But the reaction was the complete opposite. Jestro gasped and backed away with a fearful look in his eyes.

"No, stay back!" He shouted with tears filling up.

Clay blinked in confusion and concern as he watched Jestro back away from him. Clay got down on his knees so he could be on Jestros' level.

"Jestro, it's me." He tried to reason with him as he shuffled towards him.

"Leave me alone, Monstrox!"

Clay quickly stopped as Jestro backed himself against a tree; breathing heavily in shaking fear. Upon closer inspection, Jestro had something wrong with his eyes. They were cloudy and discoloured. Clay knew Jestro was under some kind of magic that was making him see things because of Monstrox. He was seeing Clay as Monstrox. Clay knew he had to handle this very delicately and make sure Jestro was not stressed or terrified any further.

"I'm not Monstrox, Jestro. It's me; Clay." He calmly and gently spoke as he slowly approached.

"No; you're not Clay! You're not going to trick me again! You're not going to make me as your vessel!" Jestro shouted in fear.

"I won't do that to you because I'm not Monstrox."

Clay was afraid that he was getting nowhere. Jestro was just staring at him with teary eyes and heavy breathing. Whatever magic was gripping him was strong. But Clay had an idea that could snap Jestro out of his state.

"Jestro? I'm going to ask you some things."

Jestro just continued to stare at Clay with his clouded eyes; seeing only a shadowy monster in his face.

"Do you remember the time we made that paper boat and she fell down the drain?" Clay tried to get Jestro to think of some memories.

Jestro still stared at Clay. But the knight continued anyway.

"It wasn't your fault that she fell down the sewers. She just outran us."

Clay watched anxiously as Jestro calmed down only a little bit; shaking a bit less than a few seconds before.

"S-she did." He whispered with a stutter.

"And what about that date we had a couple of days ago at the amusement castle? And we played that arcade game you liked? CarnEvil. That's what it's called. You got really excited when you saw it and you wanted to play it."

Clay noticed that Jestros eyes were regaining their green colour. Whatever Clay was doing, it was working.

"And we won a lot of prizes like Candy, that dragon toy like the one Izzy gave you and we had something to eat with the others before we thought about going on vacation to the beach."

Jestro began to shake less and less as Clay continued reminding him. Clay knew he was getting to him, but he kept going.

"And then there was... there was..."

Clay was at a loss for what to say next. He rubbed his head as he tried to think of something; losing Jestro to the spell little by little. Clay quickly thought of something that he was sure would help, but it was a long shot.

"There was last night." He began; making Jestro listen. "Last night, I told you how I really felt about everything that's happened. And, I told you how I really felt about our friendship. How I want us to be more then friends. I thought I ruined it when I kissed you. But you... you didn't reject me. You embraced me. It felt like a massive weight was taken off me."

Clay did not realise it, but he was tearing up as he thought of what lead him to his actions last night.

"But... the thought of losing you to Monstrox tears me apart. I never want that to happen again. Not then, not now, not ever."

Before Clay burst into tears, he quickly wrapped his arms around Jestro and hugged him tightly. The blue knight then let the frustrated tears flow down from his eyes; feeling like he was letting go of a lot of stress as his breathing stilled. But he almost flinched as he felt Jestro hugging him back as he heard him whimpering.

"I'm sorry, Clay."

Clay gently broke away from the hug to look at Jestro. Clay smiled at a little when he saw Jestros' eyes back in their light green colour, but he quickly went back to a concerned stare when he saw tears pouring out of the jesters eyes.

"I don't know what happened. I was just trying to run away from him, but then he threw something in my eyes and I started seeing him everywhere." Jestro tried to explain through his terrified tears.

Clay pulled Jestro close to him and hugged him tightly as he whispered reassuring things to him.

"It's going to be okay. He won't get you." He reassured as he lifted Jestro off the ground bridle style. "I promise."

Jestro just hung onto Clay with the dragon plushy in his hand; hiding his face in the Knights shoulder as he tried to hide his fearful tears. Clay walked slowly out of the forest as he held Jestro; wondering if Monstrox was still following them and watching them. As they went further away from the forest and closer to the academy, Clay spotted the Fortrex just outside the gates. A few students were looking through the windows of their rooms; watching and wondering what was actually happening. Clay could see some familiar faces as he got closer to the Fortrex. He instantly recognised them when they turned to see him.

"Clay!"

Clay could hear the sound of Axls' deep voice as he, Macy and Aaron ran towards him. The blue knight only smiled a little; relived to see his friends. Lance just stood next to Principal Brickland near the Fortrex.

"Lance told us what happened at the hospital." Macy spoke as she caught her breath.

"You two okay?" Aaron asked in worried concern.

"Monstrox casted some kind of hallucination magic on him, but he snapped out of it." Clay explained before making his way to the Fortrex.

The Knights followed Clay into the Fortrex while Principal Brickland and some students looking through their windows watched the Knights and the jester disappear into the armour mobile fortress. As Clay walked in, he spotted a concerned looking Merlok with Robin and Ava sitting at the table.

"Shouldn't you both be at home and asleep?" He asked with a rather concerned stare.

"We wanted to make sure you and Jestro was okay." Robin answered with a little yawn.

"After what Lance told us happened at the hospital, we're very concerned about your wellbeing." Ava added.

"From the way Jestro is right now, it must have been terrible." Merlok observed.

Clay placed Jestro on the closeted chair; giving him the chance to calm down and relax. Jestro breathed a bit easier when he realised where he was. But Clay made sure he was okay as he gently grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"I'm not going to let him get you. I promise." He reassured.

The Knights came into the Fortrex with Principal Brickland following them. Brickland raised a brow at Clay and Jestro; confused by what was happening.

"Moorington?"

Clay, Jestro, pretty much everyone quickly turned and noticed Brickland standing there with a confused look on his face.

"What's going on here?" He asked in a firm yet concerned tone.

Clay gave Jestro a small reassuring smile before walking over to Brickland; leading him just outside the Fortrex. Everyone just took a mildly frustrated exhale and leaned on whatever was close to them; exhausted by everything that was going on. Jestro just sat in his chair; holding his dragon plushy and hugging it tightly. He really hoped that Clay was right and Monstrox was not going to get him in the Fortrex. But neither he nor anyone around him noticed that something black and slimy was creeping towards his leg.

"Moorington, what exactly is going on here?" Brickland asked. "I found that you and the juggler have been in the hospital right after one of my best students is admitted the day before. Is there something wrong?"

Clay looked down at his bandaged arm and looked up at Principal Brickland with hesitation.

"I'd tell you what was happening, but you wouldn't believe it." Clay tried to reason with his former teacher.

Principal Brickland just sighed and shook his head. He was about to say something when he heard some commotion coming from the inside of the school; probably some trouble makers on the loose at this hour.

"Look, if you ever want to talk about anything, you and Jestro can come to me." He informed before walking back to the Knights academy; yelling that someone better not be screwing around in there.

Clay just took a sigh of frustration and tiredness. Everything that was happening to him and his friends was really getting to him.

"Least it can't get any worse." He thought as he rubbed his head.

But a scream and some yelling coming from inside the Fortrex made him flinch and turn around. Clay quickly ran back and gasped in horror at what he saw.

The Knights were throwing their weapons and Merlok was casting attack spells at some giant black slime that had itself wrapped around Jestro; making him scream in terror and desperation. Axl was making sure Robin and Ava were nowhere near the creature; but they were watching the horror before them.

"Help me! Please!" Jestro screamed as he reached for Clay with his free hand.

The knights were about to charge and attack as the slime tentacle began to drag Jestro through the hall. Clay began running after it as the knight chased after him. The slime creature oozed backwards through the hallway into the guestroom where Clay and Jestro spent a night together. Clay managed to reach the room to see where the creature was coming from. The bed had a giant hole in the middle of it with a red and black swirl; like some kind of portal. But Clay could see a man with a familiar face staring back at him as the tentacle gripping Jestro was attached to his side.

Monstrox grinned and chuckled before he began to lower down into the portal; intending to take Jestro with him.

"Clay!" Jestro called out as he was being dragged down.

"Jestro, No!"

Clay ran towards the bed, grabbed Jestros' hand and began to pull. Monstrox let out an angered growl as he felt his prey being pulled back. The nightmare necromancer grunted as he pulled in his direction; turning Jestro into a tug-of-war rope. The Knights quickly saw what was happening and grabbed onto Clay; trying to help him save Jestro.

"Don't let go!" Macy grunted as she felt Monstrox pulling against them.

"Give up, Knights! Joke boy is mine!" Monstrox threatened with a growl as he pulled back.

Robin and Ava saw what was happening as the Knights began to lose the fight. Jestro looked at Clay in desperation.

"Please don't let go, Clay!" He asked in fear as he held onto his knight.

"I'm not losing you, Jestro! Not again!" Clay said as he tried to pull harder.

But even with the support of his friends, it was a losing battle. Monstrox grinned as he saw the Knights losing their footing. The necromancer pulled with massive force; taking not only Jestro, but the Knights with him through the portal as well. Robin and Ava gasped in horror as the portal in the bed closed up.

"This is not good!" They both said; on the verge of a panic attack.

The Knights screamed as they fell down what looked like some kind of demented rabbit hole; images of broken clocks and demonic creatures flashing past them. Clay just tried to float towards Jestro as he fell; trying to reach him as he reached for him. But Monstrox still had a grip on the jester. Monstrox just smiled grimly before disappearing through another hole; taking Jestro with him.

"Jestro!" Clay called out as his love disappeared with his enemy.

"Everybody brace yourselves!"

Clay heard Aaron warn everyone as they were about to fall in what they hoped was water. Everyone held their breath as they plummeted into a pool of dark liquid; making five splashes at once as they landed. After a few seconds, everyone came up and gasped for air. Clay quickly swam towards the dry floor with everyone following him. Axl coughed up a bit of water while Lance squeezed some water out of his hair.

"Where are we?" Macy questioned as she emptied some water out of her boots.

Clay looked up and stared at the new environment they were dragged into. Everything was all dark and dim. But he knew everything just looked like a sewer because he could see a few tunnels.

"Jeez, This is messed up." Aaron commented.

"Yeah. But where do you think Monstrox and Jestro are in here?" Axl asked in slight fear of the place they were in.

Clay stood up as he thought the same question.

Where were they?


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Sorry if this seems late. Christmas ya know? Hope you enjoy the suspense and horror.**

* * *

 _ **The Final Nightmare part 1**_

* * *

Jestro grunted as he tried to pull himself out of the dried up slime that Monstrox encased him in; using his one free arm.

"Don't bother, Joke boy; that stuff is like rock now." Monstrox discouraged in a rather sadistic tone of voice.

Jestro looked up from his spot on the floor and gave the necromancer a stare of pure hatred and disgust.

"Why me? You could have anyone to haunt and pick as your soul jar! Why me?!" Jestro questioned in frustration as he continued to struggle.

Monstrox dropped the smile he had on before as he stared down at Jestro. He bent down and looked right into his eyes with an almost enraged stare. Jestro tried to stay calm as the necromancer began speaking to him.

"I know I could've picked anybody. But I only went after you because I know you, Jestro. I know everything that you were up until know. I know what keeps you up at night."

Monstrox raised his claw and smiled as he brought it up to Jestros face. Jestro tried to inch away from it as best he could, even though Monstrox was just brushing his claw against his face; not cutting or causing any harm.

"I know you're afraid of me, Jestro."

Jestro just stared with wide eyes as Monstrox stood and faced away from him.

"It's a shame though. We were a great team until you decided to betray me. We were such great pals before then." Monstrox began to reminisce.

Jestro just gave Monstrox an angered and disbelieving look.

"We were never really friends!" He cried out in an angered yell. "You kept lying to me and made me think you were training me to be powerful! Instead, you used me just so you could get what you wanted! When you got it, you were going to use me and my body as your vessel! You threw me to the ditch and you were going to use Clay! If you ever thought we were friends, then you thought wrong. Friends would never do that to each other and friends don't lie!"

Monstrox just looked at Jestro with a disgruntled look and a raised brow.

"You say that like you did nothing wrong." Monstrox said as he circled around Jestro. "You didn't really argue when I made you the offer to be bad like me."

"I know I did! But there's a difference between you and me!" Jestro began to argue with the necromancer as he pointed at him with his free hand. "I want to change and make amends with my mistakes. I want people to know that I'm sorry, even if they don't forgive me. And most of all, I want absolutely nothing to do with you!"

Monstrox just shrugged before bringing out his non-clawed hand from under his robe and bent down towards Jestros' face. Jestro watched in disgust as black goop appeared and dripped from his hand.

"Too bad." He said as he smiled and held his hand out. "Even if people forgive you, no one is coming to save you from me."

Jestro gave Monstrox a sly grin before he began to laugh quietly. The necromancer raised a brow in suspicion.

"What's so funny?" He asked like he did not understand a joke.

"You do realise that the Knights fell into the portal with us, right?" Jestro asked as his face quickly went back to being serious. "They're around here somewhere. And if I haven't beaten you to bits first, then they will. They'll make you wish you stayed dead, Monstrox. They're going to kick your a-"

Monstrox interrupted Jestro by putting his hand over his mouth. Jestro made some muffled protests as he felt something creeping over his closed mouth.

"You talk too much; you know that?" Monstrox said as he took his hand away; showing dried up black goo covering Jestros' mouth and preventing him from speaking.

Jestro tried to shout and yell, but all that came out were muffled and blocked words. He made a rather frightened sound as Monstrox grabbed his sealed up legs and dragged him across the floor. Monstrox took Jestro inside a room full of junk and what looked like lost things. He found a box large and deep enough to fit Jestro in and threw him in there. Jestro tried to tear the black goop off his mouth with his free hand, but it was stuck like glue. Monstrox let out a deep chuckle as he watched the jester struggle.

"I know the Knights are here and they're probably gonna look for us." Monstrox admitted as he grabbed the lid of the box.

Jestro stared with wide eyes as Monstrox gave him a sinister grin.

"But you're not the one they'll be rescuing." Monstrox laughed as his voice began to change.

Jestro let out muffled shouts of protest, but Monstrox put the lib on him and the box; silencing him a bit more.

* * *

The Knights looked around in the unfamiliar environment; unnerved by the leaking pipes and the dark tunnel ahead of them.

"This is not how I thought today would go. Oh jeez." Lance panicked as he was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"It's okay, Lance; take a deep breath." Axl quickly went over to calm the white knight down.

"Where the heck are we though?!" Aaron questioned. "It's like we got sucked into a horror movie!"

"Whatever this place is, Monstrox can't be far and neither can Jestro." Clay tried to stay calm as he assessed the situation.

Everyone knew what Clay was thinking and what he wanted to do. But he was not making complete sense of it all.

"Clay, even if we find Jestro and beat Monstrox somehow, we don't have a way out of whatever this nightmare is!" Macy tried to think realistically.

Clay was about to say something when Aaron put his hands on his helmet.

"...Hey... You guys... Answer us! Where are you?!"

Aaron gasped as he heard Ava's voice in the communicator of his helmet.

"Everybody turn your communication on! I can hear Ava!" He quickly told everyone as he took his helmet off to show Clay.

Clay quickly took Aaron's helmet and put it close to his ear to listen as everyone else did.

"Guys! Are you there!?" She asked again; clearer this time.

"Ava! We can hear you!" Macy replied back.

"Very loud and clear!" Axl added.

"We saw you disappear into the bed! Where are you?!" They heard Robin question them on their location.

"We really don't know!" Macy answered in worried honesty.

"That portal we fell through might have led to some kind of nightmare zone of sorts!" Axl added his guess.

"I'm afraid you've landed in Monstroxs' nightmare realm, Nexo Knights!"

Everyone gasped as they heard Merloks' voice through their speakers.

"Merlok! I don't know what's happening here, but it's terrifying!" Lance panicked as he spoke to the digital wizard.

"Try not to worry, everyone. I've picked up the magic that Monstrox used for that portal. I might be able to temporarily create one so you can come back into the real word." Merlok explained.

Everyone smiled in relief as Merlok told them he could help them. While Clay was grateful, he knew he could not leave without Jestro.

"Merlok, you'll have to hold it off for a bit. Jestro is trapped here somewhere and we can't leave without him!" Clay explained through the communicator in Aaron's helmet.

Everyone stopped smiling and looked down; knowing they could not leave without the kidnapped jester. Aaron looked down and spoke into his helmet.

"Yo Merlok. When we find Jestro, we'll tell you and you can start the portal spell. Can you do that?" Aaron asked the digital wizard.

"I'm sure I can, Aaron." Merlok replied before warning them. "But be careful. You're all in Monstroxs territory now. And he'll probably use everything and all the power he has here against you."

The Knights all nodded in understanding. But they had uncertain looks on their faces. Clay took a deep breath as he readied his sword and shield; preparing for whatever was coming as he turned to the tunnel.

"We need to stay quiet. If we rush in, we may not make it back." The blue Knight spoke eerily but realistically.

Lance and Axl swallowed the spit forming in their mouths while Aaron and Macy followed Clay into the tunnel. But they put their fear aside and followed the rest of the team. Everyone kept they breathing slow and quiet as they walked through the wet dripping tunnel; thinking they were seeing bugs crawling on the walls. Everyone kept their weapons up in case something was going to jump out at them. But Clay quickly froze when he heard something ahead of them.

"Wait a second." He said as he ordered everyone to halt.

The Knights stopped and stared in confusion as Clay listened out. He kept listening before he figured out what the sound was. It sounded like someone moaning quietly in pain. It sounded like...

Clay ran to the next tunnel where the sound was coming from. The Knights quickly chased after him before he entered a room down the tunnel full of junk and lost things; stopping and gasping in horror upon what he saw.

Jestro was lying face down on the ground; moaning and breathing heavily with difficulty. The Knights all gasped in shock as they ran into the room.

"Jestro!"

Clay put away his weapon and shield as he ran and kneeled down beside Jestro; gently grabbing him and turning him over to look at him. Clay felt a massive chill go down his spine as he saw patches of bruises and bloody scratches on his skin, rips and tears on his pyjamas and a black eye on his love; knowing all too well who was to blame. Jestro had his eyes closed as he breathed heavily.

"Jestro?!" Clay quietly spoke as he tried to bring him back onto consciousness.

Everyone watched in nervous concern as Jestro slowly and painfully opened his eyes. He breathed heavily as he looked up at Clay and the Knights looking down at him.

"Clay... you, came for me." He spoke in a painful whisper.

"What happened to you, J man?" Aaron asked in concern.

Everyone watched as Jestro quickly put his arms around Clay and hugged him as he began to cry softly. Clay held onto him as he listened.

"He did horrible things to me." The wounded and beaten Jestro spoke as his voice flooded from the tears. "He nearly beat me to death. He left for a minute, but he said he was coming back to take over my body."

Everyone watched with heart wrenching stares as Clay gently hugged back and comforted him before lifting him up off the floor in his arms.

"It's going to be okay. We're going to get out of here before he can get to you." Clay spoke with reassurance as he turned around.

Everyone followed Clay and Jestro to make their way back to where they came; intending to message Merlok so he could open their way out. But Lance stopped in his place when he thought he heard something from the junk pile. He turned and looked to listen. But he did not hear anything again.

"Lance, come on." Axl told him to hurry up.

Lance quickly caught up with the others. Though he knew something was amiss. He could not see it, nor did anyone notice. But the beaten and bleeding Jestro was smiling a little. A rather grim smile.

Jestro struggled and struggled as he tried to get out of the black dried up gunk around him. He had to resort to breathing through his nose because of the dried up gunk covering his mouth; being unable to scream or call for help. All that came out was just quiet muffled sounds that could only be interpreted.

"...Jes!..."

Jestro froze when he heard a familiar voice on the other side of the box containing him. He stayed still as he listened. He made a muffled voice as he recognised the voices appearing. Clay and the Knights were there. But he heard his own voice outside as well. Monstrox was tricking them.

"...okay...we're...out..."

Jestro only heard a fraction of what Clay was saying on the other side of the box. But he knew they were leaving. With Monstrox.

"Clay, stop! That's not me!"

Jestro tried to shout out to the Knights. But only quiet muffled sounds came out. Jestro could not let this happen. He could not let Monstrox get away with this. With a muffled growl, Jestro rose up his free hand, turned it into a fist and slammed it down against the dried up gunk. He quickly did it a few more times before he heard a loud crack. Jestro grunted as he felt his other hand get free from its prison, and soon the rest of him was free from the dried up gunk. The jester lifted his legs up and kicked the box he was stuck in to get it open. He quickly climbed out and ran out to the tunnel; trying to get the gunk off his mouth as he ran.

"I'm glad you guys didn't get hurt."

Jestro heard his own voice as he ran down the tunnel; knowing the Knights were going that way. Jestro felt the gunk cracking up when he saw the Knights walking through the tunnel. And Monstrox was with them. Jestro grunted as he pulled the dried up gunk off; feeling it break like glass as he took a much needed deep breath. He quickly looked up at the Knights as they reached the beginning of the tunnel before shouting at the top of his lungs.

"STOP!"

Clay and the Knights stopped while the beaten Jestro went wide eyed. Everyone quickly turned around and gasped when they saw Jestro standing there. The beaten Jestro looked at him with a stare of hate and resentment while Clay just stood there confused.

"What the heck is this?!" Lance shouted out as he began to question his sanity.

Everyone else stared as Jestro slowly walked to them.

"Clay. That thing you are holding onto right now is not me! It's Monstrox!" He just got straight to the point as he pointed at the imposter.

Everyone just looked at Jestro like he was insane before looking at the beaten Jestro that Clay was holding. The beaten Jestro made Clay put him down so he could stand up; rather weakly.

"This is a trick." The beaten Jestro told them as he pointed at the jester across from them. "That's Monstrox. I'm Jestro."

Clay made a confused and frightened sound as he looked back and forth between the two jesters. This really was a trick. Which one was the really Jestro? In a swipe of instinct, Clay took out his sword and gave both Jestros a suspicious stare. The Knights quickly reacted.

"Clay, what're you doing, man!?" Aaron questioned in shock.

"I've had enough!" Clay shouted out in angered annoyance as he held his blade towards Jestro.

Jestro took a step back; seeing the beaten Jestro smirking. But he quickly stopped when Clay turned to him with his weapon.

"I don't know which one of you is the real Jestro or Monstrox. But I will say this to you, you bloody necromancer! I'm sick of your tricks and your evil deeds! So show yourself or so help me, I will stab you through your black heart!"

Jestro had a worried and scared look on his face while beaten Jestro had a calm and collected look on his face. Jestro tried to stay calm as he slowly approached Clay and the Knights.

"Clay; I know you're a reasonable person." He tried to reason with the blue knight. "And I know what a wonderful human being you are too."

"Yes, you are wonderful. You always cared about me and comforted me when people laughed at me." The beaten Jestro added in an attempt to confuse Clay.

Clay looked back and forth between them; confused and afraid of making a mistake.

"Maybe Monstrox is the one over there!" Axl pointed at Jestro. "He only showed up last minute!"

"But what if that's the real Jestro, and the one we have with us here is Monstrox and he was waiting for us?" Macy added her own theory; unfortunately causing more confusion.

With a frustrated grunt, Clay walked over to Jestro and pointed his sword at his chest; making him gasp in fear. The beaten Jestro had a disgruntled look on his face as he prayed Moorington would not make a mistake and kill him.

"If you are my Jestro, I'm sorry." Clay apologised in advance before speaking. "But I need to know for sure."

Jestro started shaking as he waited for Clay make his next move and hopefully not stab him. Clay took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"When were kids. Merlok took you on as his student, but it didn't go as well as you hoped and you were sad about it. So I cheered you up by making a paper boat and naming her after you. Tell me. What happened to her when we set her out to sail?"

Clay waited anxiously for Jestro to answer. Jestro continued to shake in fear. But he opened his mouth as he tried to answer.

"It fell down the drain."

Jestro froze, Clay turned around and the Knights looked at the beaten Jestro as he interrupted his counterpart.

"It was so fast that we couldn't keep up and it fell down the drain because of the rain. Isn't that what happened?"

Jestro began to breathe heavily in fear of what Clay was going to do. But Clay knew something was wrong with the beaten Jestros answer...

Jestro always called the boat a she.

Jestro stilled his breath as he felt tears emerging. He could not take the fear anymore.

"Clay. Before you do anything, I need to tell you something. Because I may not get the chance if we don't make it out of here."

Clay stilled himself and watched anxiously as Jestro failed to hold back any tears as he looked down at the floor and took a deep and anxious breath before saying something that Clay would never forget.

"I... I love you."

Jestro just let his tears flow as he felt a massive weight disappear from his shoulders. The Knights gave the jester confused faces; thinking they didn't hear him right or not. Lance smiled a little as he knew exactly what Jestro said. But the beaten Jestro had a look of disgust on his face from all the gross softness happening in front of him. Clay however, was silently gobsmacked. The blue knight felt a rush of tears coming as well; not even trying to hold them back. But he smiled a bit as he slightly lowered his weapon.

"I love you too." He replied with a shaky quiver in his voice.

The beaten Jestro clutched his fist as he watched the sickening sappy scene in front of him. He was about object. But Clay could already sense the wolf among the sheep. He turned his head slightly to see the imposter in the corner of his eye.

"You should be ashamed of yourself... Monstrox!"

In a quick motion, Clay turned around and held his sword high above over his shoulder. The beaten Jestro was about to question what the knight was doing, but Clay cut him off as he plunged his weapon into the imposters' chest. Everyone gasped in shock as the fake Jester looked at Clay with wide eyes. He looked down at the sword jammed into his chest as black sludge spilt out from the wound. The real Jestro had his hands over his mouth in horror. But the imposter looked up at Clay as his eyes turned yellow and red with pure anger.

"You're going to pay for that, Moorington."

Everyone took a step back as a deep demonic voice came out of the imposters' mouth. He grunted and growled as he grabbed the blade and pulled it out of his chest; spilling out more black gunk. The Knights readied their weapons as the imposter hunched over and his form began to change in a grotesque way. Bones could be heard cracking and his entire form was melting in black sludge as he grew taller. Clay quickly picked up his sword as the Imposter showed his true form. Monstrox.

Monstrox grunted as he bared his claws out; seemingly about to attack Clay. Clay and the Knights made the first move and charged at him with brute force. But Monstrox turned himself into a black puddle underneath; oozing away from them and making them almost hit each other. Jestro freaked out as Monstrox quickly came towards him in his puddle form. The jester tried to run away, but Monstrox reform an arm and grabbed him; quickly turning back so he could hold Jestro in a tight inescapable grip. The Knights quickly got themselves together in time to see Monstrox facing them with Jestro being held up with blades close to his neck. Clay gave the necromancer a death glare of pure hatred.

"Let him go, Monstrox!" Clay demanded; holding up his weapon.

"No!" Monstrox yelled back in rage. "I'm taking him! I'm taking his body! And when I'm done, I'm going to turn you all inside out before I get out of here and unleash my wrath upon the kingdom!"

Jestro held in his whimpers and tears as he felt the blades of Monstroxs claws brush against his neck. The Knights kept their guards up as Monstrox grinned at them and looked down at them.

"But maybe we can make a deal." He maliciously suggested with ill intent. "If you leave joke boy here with me, I'll let you all go free. That's it. Just walk away, and no one has to get hurt."

The Knights looked at Jestro and his look of fright; knowing he was well passed scared out of his wits.

"We won't leave Jestro here with you!" Macy protested.

"Yeah, ya piece of scum!" Axl added an insult.

Monstrox raised a brow as he brushed his claws close to Jestros face; making him quietly whimper as terrified tears fell. The Knights quickly stilled as they gasped; afraid that their next move would get Jestro hurt.

"You better watch what you say to me, Nexo nots. My fingers might slip and give J man a permanent smile." The necromancer threatened.

The Knights stayed still as did Monstrox. But Aaron put his hands behind his back with his crossbow. He looked at Lance as he did so and Lance looked at him the same. Jestro took a few deep breaths as he felt the grip on him tightening and making it harder for him to breathe.

"I'm sorry." He spoke out loud as more hot tears fell.

Monstrox and the Knights looked at him as he continued to speak.

"This whole thing is my fault. I didn't want any of this. Not if you all have to get hurt. Please, don't risk your lives for me. Leave while you still can."

Clay looked at him with wide eyes.

"Jestro, don't say that!" The blue knight begged.

"You heard him, Moorington. Joke boy wants to stay." Monstrox spoke with a sadistic grin.

Clay looked at Jestro with a look of disbelief and fear. Jestro just had sadness and regret written all over his face. Lance shook his head before stepping forward with his weapon over his shoulder.

"You wanna know something, Monstrox? Jestro and Clay are not the only ones here with a bone to pick with you."

Monstrox raised a brow in suspicion as Lance continued to speak.

"I can tolerate the fact that you took all my money and kidnapped my parents. And I can tolerate the fact that you tried to give me a heart attack with a locker room nightmare while you were pretending to be a monster version of Jestro."

Everyone watched anxiously as Lance gave Monstrox a very anger look. Too angry even for Lance. Aaron watched carefully for any signals.

"But there's one thing. One thing that you should never have done." The white knight said as he pointed his weapon at the necromancer. "You dragged my sister into this got her injured and in the hospital. Now, you'll have to pay and deal with me."

Everyone expected Monstrox to laugh and mock Lance for trying to be tough. But he just growled like a wild animal and took his claws away from Jestro; intending to attack Lance. Lance watched and waited as Monstrox held his claws up high and prepared to strike the white knight down.

"Aaron, now!" Lance shouted to the green knight.

Aaron took out his crossbow and fired an electrified bolt at Monstrox; hitting him straight in the eye. Monstrox screamed as he held his face; dropping Jestro in the process and setting him free.

"Knights! Attack!" Clay ordered as he charged.

Monstrox screamed and grunted in pain as the Knights attacked him relentlessly. Clay quickly turned to Jestro; telling him to run and hide. Jestro quickly got up and quickly ran down the tunnel; looking back a view times to make sure the Knights were okay. Monstrox could see Jestro running off with his non damaged eye.

"No you don't!" He shouted as he fought back.

Before the knight could attack again, Monstrox held his arms up and shouted 'Enough'; turning his robe into a mass black slime of tentacles. The tentacles grabbed each of the Knights and pinned them to the walls; turning into the black gunk that Jestro was trapped in and sticking them onto the walls. Monstrox approached Clay as he and the others struggled against the hardened gunk.

"You've already spoiled my plans before, Moorington. It's not happening again." The necromancer spoke in an angered and threatening tone.

The Knights just continued to struggle, but Clay tightened his grip on his sword as he felt his anger building up inside him.

"You evil fiend!" Clay insulted the necromancer as he walked away. "You're nothing but a vile snake!"

Monstrox stopped in his tracks and turned back to face Clay and the Knights. The Knights felt a level of discomfort as Monstrox tilted his head at them.

"A snake, you say?" He questioned as a smile came on.

Clay began to feel disturbed as Monstrox began to laugh before looking at him again.

"Well, maybe Jestro would like to see how much of a ssssshake I can be!"

The Knights went wide eyed as they spotted a long forked tong extend out of Monstroxs' mouth. But they watched in horror as his form began to change again. Monstroxs form extended in height and length. His arms and claws disappeared and his robe merged into his body; turning into blood red marks over black scales. His head grew scaly with his demonic eyes growing bigger and more beastly and he grew a tail with a red and yellow blade on the end. The Knights were afraid and gobsmacked by the sight. But Clay was completely petrified. Monstrox looked down at Clay with his new form; lowering his head to look at him.

"What's wrong, Moorington? Afraid of ssssnakes?" Monstrox asked as his forked tong brushes near the Knights face. "Well, consider yourself lucky it's not you that I want."

Everyone watched as Monstrox began to slither away into the tunnel where Jestro ran.

"I'm off to get my new body. Ssssee you all ssssoon!" He grimly said goodbye before laughing through the tunnel.

The Knights continued to struggle out of the gunk. But Clay was straining himself as he struggled to get himself free.

"Jestro!"

* * *

 **AN: This is it people. There is two more chapters after this. Next one is the big fight against Nightmare Monstrox.**


	20. Chapter 20

_**The Final Nightmare part 2**_

* * *

Jestro kept his breathing steady as he ran down the tunnel; looking back once in a while to see if Monstrox was chasing him or if Clay and the Knights were looking for him. He quickly stopped as he reached the end of the tunnel. But he was not at a dead end. He was now in a massive room of pillars and walls like a maze with pipes clinging to them. Jestro hesitated as he thought of going in. But he gasped as an unnerving sound hit his ears. He quickly turned around as he heard deep, unsettling laughter echoing from down the tunnel.

"Jessstro. Where are you?"

Jestro threw his hesitation aside as he heard Monstroxs voice down the tunnel; running into the new room without any second thoughts. He ran into a corner near the front of the room. Taking the opportunity to catch his breath, he stood around the corner; watching the front entrance as he tried not to breath too loudly. Jestro was expecting to hear footsteps as Monstrox approached. But chills went up his spine as he heard what sounded like sliding against the floor. He covered his mouth as he gasped with wide eyes when he saw the massive snake Monstrox slither into the entrance of the maze; sticking his forked tong out every two seconds. Jestro kept quiet as he backed away from the entrance; making sure he was unseen as he prepared to run away. But Jestro did not watch where he was going and backed into a damaged pipe; releasing hot steam with a deafening whistle. Jestro covered his ears, but he knew he just gave away his position. Monstrox turned his head and quickly slithered around the corner; giving the jester a fang filed smile.

"There you are."

Jestro quickly turned around and ran like a frightened road runner; refusing to look back as Monstrox slithered after him with a mocking laugh.

"You can't outrun me forever, clown boy! You're gonna run out of steam eventually!" The snake necromancer teased.

"Leave me alone!" Jestro shouted back as he took a sharp turn around a corner.

Monstrox bumped into the corner with grunt; slowing down for a second. Jestro just kept running and took advantage of the short of amount of time he just gained. But Monstrox did not take long to get back on Jestros trail; knowing there was a dead end around here somewhere.

* * *

"What is this stuff!?" Axl shouted as he struggled to break out of the dried up black gunk.

"It's in my hair!" Lance screamed out.

"It's like cement!" Macy added with angered annoyance.

While the Knights continued to struggle, Clay was trying to get free from the wall he was glued onto. He looked down as he remembered that his arm and sword were not tied down. The blue knight quickly got himself together and slammed the handle of sword into the dried gunk; repeating it until it began to crack and break like glass. Clay landed on his feet as the gunk gave way; freeing him. Clay quickly picked up his shield and ran to Macy; freeing her from the gunk like he freed himself. Macy landed on her feet and looked up at Clay.

"You go save Jestro! I'll free the guys and we'll tell Merlok to get the portal ready!" She insisted; knowing what Clay was going to do.

Clay nodded and ran towards the tunnels; the others cheering him on and telling him to kick Monstroxs' butt. Clay kept his focus as he ran towards the tunnels; preying that Jestro was not harmed by that snake.

* * *

Jestro felt his heart pumping as he continued to run through the maze; not looking back, but knowing Monstrox was not far behind. He knew Monstrox was not kidding about running out of steam. He was finding it harder and harder to breathe as he ran continuously. But his run came to a complete stop when he reached a wall. Jestro thought he was at a dead end until he noticed a decent sized crack in the stone, and there was some light down the other end. When Jestro heard Monstroxs' laughter not far behind, he knew he would rather take his chances squirming through a crack in the wall. Jestro quickly crawled into the crack as he heard the sound of a giant snake slithering towards him. He could not see it, but Monstrox just turned around the corner and saw the jester trying to escape.

"Gotcha!"

Jestro heard the necromancer turned snake; making him crawl through the crack faster. Monstrox lunged at the jester; but he missed by an inch. Monstrox hissed as he watched Jestro crawl away through the crack. Jestro just kept his eyes forward; smiling as he saw the light ahead of him.

"Yes! Yes; almost there!" He thought out loud as he crawled faster.

But Jestro was met with terror as he felt something leathery and scaly wrap around his ankle. Jestro screamed as he felt whatever had him drag him back through the crack; making the light at the end shrink. Jestro heard Monstroxs laughter; finding out that he was pulling his leg with the end of his tail. Monstrox pulled Jestro back through the crack and wrapped his tail around his torso and arms. Jestro kicked and struggled as he felt Monstrox squeezing him. The jester looked at the snake as he held him with a sadistic grin and a chuckle.

"Nowhere to go, Clown boy. You're all mine." Monstrox teased; his sharp grin growing wider.

Jestro just returned the grin with a vengeful stare of hatred before going off.

"I hate you, Monstrox!" He shouted; making the snake drop his grin. "I hate you for everything you've put me through! I wish I never opened your pages in Merloks' library!"

Jestro took some breaths after going off at the necromancer. But his stare of anger turned into fear when Monstrox returned the expression.

"Well that's pretty harsh, even for you." Monstrox began his reply. "You know what I think is wrong with you, Jestro? You're too soft. I gave you a chance to get everything you wanted. And you threw it away. Even when I was going to take over your form, I still treated you better than anyone ever did. You really think people will like you now? You don't actually believe all that hail to the weatherman stuff, do ya?"

Jestro just gave Monstrox a vengeful glare before speaking again.

"Well Clay has always been nothing but good to me; even when I was with a scumbag like you." He spoke in a harsh tone.

Monstrox just hissed before bringing Jestro down to reality.

"Moorington's not here to save you, Jestro." He grinned as he spoke to the terrified jester. "Not even after I bite your soul out of you and replace it with mine."

Jestro stared at Monstrox with wide eyes when he heard the word bite. Before Jestro could question anything, Monstrox slowly opened his mouth; showing a terrifying amount of fangs. But the ones that made Jestro gasp were the two up front; dripping a bright red liquid that looked like some kind acid or chemical. Or venom.

"No wait! Please no stop!" Jestro begged as he struggled.

"Too late, Joke boy." Monstrox spoke through his open mouth as his fangs extended. "You should have stayed with me. Then it wouldn't have had to come to this."

Jestro struggled and screamed as Monstrox prepared to bite him with his venom dripping fangs. The jester looked down and closed his eyes; thinking that this was the end. As he waited for the fangs to pierce his neck, he had one thought that repeated in his head as he felt tears of regret emerging.

"I'm sorry, Clay."

But Jestro felt himself being tossed aside as he heard Monstrox cry out and scream. Jestro quickly looked up to see Clay plunging his sword into the giant snake.

Clay kept his balance as Monstrox jerked and struggled to get him off. But he fell off with his sword still in hand; falling to the floor with an oof. Monstrox quickly turned around to face his attacker with an enraged hiss.

"Moorington!" He shouted with a death glare.

Clay quickly rolled over as Monstrox slammed the blade of his tail into the floor; missing the Knights head by an inch. The knight stood up and held his sword and shield in front of him in case of more attacks.

"You're either pretty brave or pretty stupid to come back here, shiny boy!" Monstrox mocked in a harsh tone.

"A knight never leaves another man behind! Especially if they mean the world to them!" Clay spoke proudly.

Jestro smiled as Clay stood against Monstrox. But the snake growled with annoyance.

"You're ruining everything!" He shouted before he lunged at the knight.

Clay jumped and swiped at Monstrox with his sword; hitting him and leaving a cut. Monstrox hissed in pain before he attempted an attack again. Jestro backed up into the crack as he watched the battle in fear. He knew Clay was winning and had his complete confidence in his knight; but the fear in him was overwhelming. Clay took another swipe at Monstrox, but he was met with a shock as Monstrox bit the blade of his sword. Clay went wide eyed as Monstrox pulled it out of his hand and threw it behind him; landing and sliding to the crack Jestro was hiding in. Jestro gasped and covered his mouth in terror. Monstrox gave Clay a monstrous grin before wrapping around him; squeezing him tightly. Clay gasped for air as Monstrox laughed at him.

"No! Clay!" Jestro screamed in his head as he reached out; looking down at Clays' sword.

Clay looked at Monstrox as he struggled to breath; his fear of snakes getting to him. Monstrox just laughed more as he raised the blade on the end of his tail; grinning as he looked down at Clay.

"Take a good look at me, Moorington! This is the last thing you'll ever see!" He mocked with his fanged grin.

Clay watched in fear Monstrox aimed the blade at Clays forehead; raising it up as he laughed in insanity.

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

Monstrox stopped laughing and gasped as he felt something sharp run through the skin of his scaly neck. Clay gasped for air as he felt the snake loosen his grip. He looked up to witness Monstroxs head fall off his snake body from what appeared to be a cut; leaking out black gunk from the incurable wound. The knight breathed heavily as he saw Jestro standing there with Clays' sword; the blade soaked in black gunk and some spots of it on his pyjamas. Jestro took heavy breaths as he stepped over the body of the headless snake towards Clay. He held his hand over to the knight. Clay took it and stood up with a relived smile. Jestro returned it as he looked up at his knight.

"I take it you're scared of snakes." He assumed.

Clay smiled as he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Jestro; hugging him tightly but gently.

"I'd walked through a room full of them if I had to save you."

Jestro hugged him back as he smiled a bit. But Clay quickly stopped smiling as he witnessed something happening to the headless snake.

"We have to go." He spoke with rising panic.

Jestro gave him a confused mumble before turning around. He gasped as he saw the remains of the necromancer snake melt into a rising pile of black sludge; growing out and up with no prominent shape or structure. But a pair of beastly eyes and a mouth full of fangs formed as the lovers backed away. The final last resort form of Monstrox growled with a deep and distorted voice.

 **"You, stupid clown faced twig! I'LL RIP YOU APART!"** He shouted as drips of gunk flew out of his monstrous mouth.

"RUN!" Clay shouted and ran with Jestro in his; dragging him a bit before he was running close behind.

Monstrox roared as he chased after the pair; charging into walls and leaving bits of himself behind him as he slid on the ground like a crocodile covered in slime. Clay and Jestro made it to the tunnel, but Monstrox was catching up.

"OPEN THE PORTAL!" He shouted out as they approached the room where the Knights were waiting for their return. "OPEN THE PORTAL!"

* * *

Macy quickly turned and listened as she heard Clay shout from inside the tunnel. She quickly remembered the plan and turned on the commotion in her helmet.

"Merlok; we need that portal now! Hurry!" She quickly requested.

"On it!" Merlok spoke from the other line.

The four Knights listened anxiously as they heard what they hoped were Clay and Jestro running down the tunnel towards them.

"Gradus revocare gradum aperire ostium contra daemonium, et salus!"

They heard Merlok repeat a chant over and over as they felt a heavy breeze behind them. They turned to see a blue and orange circle of energy form and opened a window to the real world; leading back into the Fortrex. Robin, Ava and Merlok were standing there as the portal opened wide enough to fit a large group of people through.

"Guys, hurry! Jump through!" Robin encouraged as he waved.

"Merlok can't do this for much longer!" Ava warned.

"Not yet! Clay and Jestro aren't back yet!" Aaron pointed at the tunnel.

"Guys! Look!"

Axl pointed at the tunnel as he spotted Clay and Jestro running out towards them and the portal. But they saw Monstrox coming after them as well. The Knights looked with wide eyes as the black mass of gunk and demon parts oozed and roared through the tunnel entrance.

"Time to go!" Lance quickly jumped through the portal when he saw the black ooze that Monstrox turned into.

"Hurry, guys!" Macy shouted out before she and the rest of the Knights ran through the escape.

Everyone shouted out as Clay and Jestro ran closer and closer to the portal; jumping through and landing face first as Monstrox got through the tunnel. The pair and everyone around them watched as the black gunk Monstrox charged towards the portal; a horde of black skeletal arms and hands reaching out with a deafening roar. Everyone backed away as the monster came closer. But Merlok threw his arms down and let out a mighty shout.

"BE GONE, FOUL DEMON!"

Merlok quickly raised his arms as Monstrox put one hand through the portal; closing the portal on the black gunk as he let out a deafening roar that lingered for a few seconds after the portal closed.

Everyone caught their breath for a moment as they stared at the spot of the disappeared portal and the monster that tried to go through. After a moment of silence, everyone cheered in triumph over their victory.

"We did it!" Aaron threw his fist in the air with a jump.

"We came, we saw, we kick his butt!" Axl chanted as he grabbed Aaron and Macy in a rough hug.

Lance laughed a bit and smiled as he shook his head slightly with disbelief. As everyone else celebrated, Clay quickly made sure Jestro was okay. Physically at least. The knight gently grabbed him by his shoulder as he looked down at him from their spot on the floor.

"Everything's going to be okay, Jestro. He can't hurt you anymore." He reassured as he took the jesters hand.

Jestro looked up at Clay as he held onto his sword; feeling tired from everything that happened. But feeling like he could move a mountain. Clay watched as Jestro dropped his sword aside and leaned forward towards him. In an act of pure instinct, Jestro grabbed Clay by his shoulders and pulled him in; kissing him on the lips in gentle passion. Clay felt his heart beat like a drum even when the kiss was over. He smiled back as Jestro smiled at him; knowing what the other was thinking.

"Whoa."

The pair quickly turned their heads to see the others staring at them. Not in disgust or disapproval. More along the lines of surprise and interest.

"Well this is quite a development." Merlok commented in interest.

Jestro quickly reacted in fear before he tried to explain.

"It's not what it looks like! I was just scared and I thought we were gonna die in there and-"

Clay quickly calmed Jestro down with a smile of reassurance.

"They already know, Jestro." He spoke with a kind and gentle tone.

Jestro blinked in confusion before looking up at the Knights to see them giving him reassuring looks.

"I think we figured out what was going on when Monstrox pretended to be you." Macy admitted as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"And I already knew." Lance confessed to the others.

While Clay and Jestro were a bit relieved that their friends were not judging them, Robin, Ava and Merlok had confused looks on their faces.

"Monstrox pretended to be Jestro?" The two children questioned.

"What exactly happened in there?" Merlok asked in concern.

The Knights and Jestro all gave each other knowing faces; thinking that telling Merlok what happened in that nightmare inducing place would be more helpful then not.

* * *

 **AN: Well that was pretty wild. Next chapter is the last chapter. Should be a relaxing one too.**


	21. Chapter 21

_**Vacation**_

* * *

Two weeks later...

* * *

"You sure there're no sharks at this beach?" Jestro asked Lance and Clay from behind a curtain in the swimwear shop.

"Trust me; I've been there plenty of times. You have a better chance of seeing fairies then a shark." Lance reassured from the outside of the curtain.

"It's perfectly safe, Jestro. Besides; we've been looking forward to this." He spoke to the jester before turning and whispering to Lance. "It's all he's talked about for the last few days."

Lance smiled as he held back a laugh before the two Knights heard Jestro talk.

"I think I got it on." He spoke in a bit of a shy tone of voice.

"Is it comfortable, Jestro?" Clay asked.

"...I guess." Jestro replied quietly.

"Well, come on out. Don't be shy, J-man." Lance encouraged.

The two knights heard a nervous squeak before the curtain opened. Jestro was standing in the dressing room in his jester hat, a pair of baggy blue and pink coloured swim shorts and a sleeveless black swim shirt that covered the lower half of his neck and torso. He stood there nervously as Lance put his hand up to his chin and nodded.

"The black mixes well with the bright colours." The white knight commented. "But can we see how it looks without the hat?"

Clay gave Lance a questionable look. But Jestro took off his hat anyway; showing his fluffy brown hair. Lance smiled and clapped in approval.

"Perfect." He spoke like a proud fashionista.

"Won't I get sunburned on my arms without sleeves?" Jestro questioned as he looked down.

"Don't worry, Jestro. We'll bring plenty of sunblock." Clay reassured.

Lance nodded in agreement with a smile.

"I'm finished, big brother!"

The three men heard Izzy call out from the ladies dressing rooms.

"Coming, Izzy!" Lance replied as he ran over to the entrance.

Clay and Jestro watched as Izzy came out of the ladies dressing rooms in a pink swimsuit that bared a strong resemblance to a ballerina costume. They could not hear what they were saying, but Lance was smiling in approval and getting a better look at her. Jestro smiled a bit at the sight as he held his hat in his hands.

"Her stitches are healing up nicely." Clay commented. "You probably won't even know she was in the hospital unless she told you."

"Yeah. I'm glad she's doing okay." Jestro added.

Jestro thought about everything that happened two weeks ago. He began to think of how his life was in danger because of Monstrox and how Clay, the Knights, Merlok, Robin and Ava put themselves at risk to help him. He thought of how Izzy got dragged into it and the way Lance cared for and looked after her when their parents would not. He thought of how he slaughtered Monstrox with Clays' sword when the necromancer took the form of the snake. While Jestro was quite happy for the past few days of getting ready for that vacation he and the Knights had planned before the whole nightmare problem, he still had some bad thoughts in his head concerning past events.

"Clay; I'm a little worried." Jestro said as he played with his hat.

Clay turned and blink in concern.

"What about, Jess?" He asked; calling Jestro by an affectionate nickname.

Jestro played with his hat a bit more as he struggled to answer the question.

"About that horrible place I was dragged into." He clarified what he was talking about.

Clay exhales a quiet sigh as he took Jestros' hand and held it gently.

"It's okay, Jestro. Monstrox is not coming back. I'm sure of it this time." The blue knight reassured. "After what you did to him, I bet he would not dare go near you if he came back."

Jestro always found reassurance in Clays' words. But sometimes, it took a lot to being his confidence back up. Jestro let out a quiet sigh before replying.

"I know the chances of him coming back are second to none. But I'm afraid that I won't be strong enough to defend myself if he does." He admitted to his new fear.

Clay shook his head slightly before taking Jestro by surprise and giving him a kiss on the cheek; making the jester turn pink with wide eyes.

"I beg to differ." The knight spoke with a warm smile.

Jestro covered the goofy smile he felt coming on with his hand as he held back a laugh. Lance came back over as Izzy went back into her change room.

"Izzy's going to change back into her clothes and we're gonna go pay for the stuff we bought." Lance explained as he picked up his swimwear.

"I'll just go change back then." Jestro replied before going back to his change room.

* * *

"Yes dad, I promise I'll use sunblock." Macy spoke into her phone; her father calling her for the twelfth time.

The Knights, Jestro, Izzy, Hamletta, Robin and Ava sat around and waited in the Fortrex as Merlok piloted it; heading straight towards the beach they were planning to camp out at for a couple of days. Everyone heard Macy as she talked to her parents on her phone.

"Okay, I'll have a good time; I promise. I love you and mom too. Bye." Macy smiled warmly as she said goodbye and hung up.

"Your dad worrying about you going on this trip?" Aaron asked in interest.

"He asked me if I had everything I needed at least three times this morning. I love him, but he needs to relax." Macy spoke as she took a seat.

"He's just looking out for you, Macy." Merlok replied from his platform on the table as he piloted the Fortrex.

"Did you tell him about what happened two weeks ago?" Jestro asked in concern.

"Well, I told him that a bandit tried to rob and kill him and we fought him off." Macy made something up.

"You didn't tell your parents the truth?" Robin asked.

"Robin, that's what happened."

Macy eyed Izzy in the corner with Lance. Robin realised what Macy meant.

"Oh yeah! That's what happened!" The boy tried to act natural.

Ava rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief.

"Well we can put that behind us." Axl smiled as he went through a bag of all the food he brought with him. "After we swim and play volleyball at the beach all day, we can cook some stuff on the BBQ and camp fire when the sun goes down! Like sausages, roasted marshmallows, s'mores, BBQ chicken-"

"There better not be any pork in there!" Lance called out as he held Hamletta protectively; making Izzy giggle a bit.

"No, they're beef sausages." Axl spoke in his defence.

Everyone felt the Fortrex come to a gentle stop before Merlok smiled under his digital beard.

"I think we're here!" He announced before opening the door of the Fortrex.

Everyone quickly ran to the doors to get a look at their location; creating mixed reactions of gasping and smiling when they all saw it.

In front of them was a beautiful sunny beach with yellow-white sand, crystal clear water with waves crashing against the sand and palm trees lined up near the other rim of where the beach began.

"This is Beautiful!" Izzy spoke as she jumped up and down happily.

"I'm gonna get changed and go swimming!" Aaron announced before running off to get changed.

"I'll go and find a spot for the BBQ!" Axl said as he ran out the Fortrex with a portable BBQ.

Everyone either went outside or in different rooms of the Fortrex to get ready. But Clay just stayed in the main room with Merlok. The digital wizard blinked in confusion upon the blue knight standing there and not getting ready for a swim.

"Something wrong, Clay? Everyone is getting dressed for beach." Merlok asked in concern.

"I'll wait until everyone else is done then I'll get changed." Clay answered back before talking a bit more. "I was just thinking about everything that happened a while back."

"How so, Clay?" Merlok asked in interest.

Clay rubbed the back of his neck as he sat down at the main table.

"I'm just grateful that we stopped Monstrox before he could take over Jestro. But we were way too close to losing him and that doctor got hurt because of it."

"Dr Hewitts said that Dr Meaner made a full recovery, Clay." Merlok reassured the knight. "Though I think he might need some therapy after what happened."

Clay looked up at Merlok as he thought about that night in Monstroxs' nightmare realm; paranoid about the necromancer finding a way to get to them again; in that horrible goop monster form no less.

"Merlok, I'm scared Monstrox might come back again. What if he comes back as that giant mass monster?"

Merlok thought about it for a moment. But he gave Clay his two cents on the thought.

"From the look of that form he took when he was chasing after you and Jestro, it's possible that he may have used up a large chunk of his dream demon powers. Even if he could, he would have a difficult time trying to come back. He may have even destroyed himself when he took that unstable form." Merlok tried to reassure the knight.

Clay looked down as he sighed softly; thinking he was overreacting upon the idea.

"Well, I told Jestro that Monstrox wouldn't come back. I guess I needed some reassurance." He said as he stood up. "Thank you Merlok."

Merlok nodded as Clay was about to walk away towards a room to get changed. But the knight stopped and turned around to face the holographic wizard again.

"May I ask one more thing, Merlok?" He asked politely.

"Yes, of course." Merlok replied kindly.

Clay hesitated a little as he thought about his question. But he worked up the courage to ask.

"Is there anyone in your life that you would go to the ends of the earth for? That you would risk your own life no matter what?" He asked quietly, but loud enough for Merlok to hear.

Merlok blinked before looking down in thought. There were many people he would take risk for. There was the king, the queen, Princess Macy... the Knights...

...

Wanda...

...

"Merlok?"

Merlok quickly snapped out of his daze as Clay brought him back down to earth; with an answer to his question. Merlok fidgeted with his staff as he thought of an answer.

"Well, Clay... I would risk everything for all the people I've come to know as my friends; including you and the Knights, the royal family, Robin and Ava, Jestro." The holographic wizard answered with a list. "Even the entire kingdom."

Clay nodded as a slight smile came on as he looked up at Merlok.

"Thank you, Merlok."

Clay turned around and headed towards his room to get changed. Merlok sighed in mild exhaustion. But he had a smile under his beard.

"You would be so proud of him, Wanda." He whispered under his breath in reminisce. "You would be so proud of him."

* * *

Clay walked out of his room in a black and blue swim shirt and blue board shorts; wondering if everyone was done getting dressed and outside. The blue knight made his way outside the Fortrex to see his friends setting up outside; already in their beach clothing in their colours. Macy and Aaron were setting up a volleyball court, Axl was getting the BBQ ready for later tonight, Lance was making sure Izzy was getting enough sunblock, Robin and Ava were getting sticks and leaves for the campfire and Jestro was putting on a rather exaggerated amount of sunblock.

"Shouldn't you have washed your makeup off before putting sunscreen on, Jestro?" Lance asked; noticing how pale he looked without his regular outfit.

"I'm not wearing any makeup, Lance." Jestro replied back in a confused tone; making Lance raise a brow at him.

Jestro turned around to put the sunblock back in his bag; noticing Clay in his swimwear. He smiled a bit as Clay smiled back at him.

"You look really nice, Clay." Jestro complimented as his cheeks went pink.

"So do you, Jestro." Clay replied back.

Jestro was about to say something else when he heard a splash. The pair turned to see Aaron jumping around in the water with joyous laughter.

"Guys! The water's great! Come on!" He shouted out for everyone to hear.

Upon hearing that, everyone but Clay ran towards the water. Merlok appeared on the screen outside and looked down at Clay and gave him a look of encouragement.

"Go on, Clay. Go and have fun." The holographic wizard spoke down to the knight.

Clay smiled a little at Merlok before he ran towards the beach; joining the others for a swim in the water.

* * *

Axl blow the fire off his burning marshmallow before sandwiching it between two gram crackers and a small chocolate bar. While everyone else was doing the same as Axl around the warm fire, Jestro and Clay were looking up at the night sky above them. Clay held Jestro close as they both stared up at the sparkling lights of the sky. Aaron looked up too as he ate his freshly prepared s'more.

"You ever think there might be life on other planets?" He asked with his mouth full.

"If there is, maybe they're asking the same question." Ava replied back.

Lance licked the crumbs of s'more off his lips before looking at Clay and Jestro; noticing that they were getting a bit cosy on the log they were sitting on. The white knight smiled as he grabbed another marshmallow and began roasting it. Izzy and Hamletta quickly noticed the pair.

"Are you two dating?" She asked curiously.

Jestro quickly jumped in his spot on the sand and looked at the girl with worried eyes as he tried to answer. Clay quickly calmed him down and answered Izzys question.

"We're taking it bit by bit." He answered with a kind smile.

Izzy just shrugged before replying.

"Okay. I just think you guys look cute together."

Jestro covered his face as he felt it turning red with embarrassment; accompanied with a quiet 'oh jeez.' as Hamletta oinked at him. Everyone smiled a little at the blushing jester.

"Never really thought that you two would be a thing." Macy commented honestly.

"Least it wasn't a few months ago, then it would've been a little awkward." Aaron added with honesty.

Jestro nodded a bit with a shrug; agreeing with Macy and Aaron. He looked up at the sky again as he sat closer to Clay.

"Least it's a nice night." He commented.

"Yeah." Lance agreed. "But I'm not sleeping out here with the bugs."

"Ya know, guys. We should do stuff like this every year. Like we should make it an annual thing." Axl suggested.

"Maybe we can go somewhere where it's snowing next time." Robin added to the suggestion.

"Not snottingham. That place is too cold and germ infested." Ava warned.

Everyone chatted away ideas and thoughts as they enjoyed their time around the campfire. But Clay and Jestro watched the sky as they held hands together; both feeling grateful to have each other. To have people who cared about them. To be able to sit here together, free of bad dreams tonight.


End file.
